Medications may be commercially unavailable for a variety of reasons, the most common being:
- back-ordered due to a manufacturing problem.
- discontinued due to decreased usage or declining manufacturer profits, which may be related to the introduction of a newer drug.
Drugs are also withdrawn from the market due to health risks and concerns. Many compounding pharmacies do not compound medications that were discontinued due to safety concerns.
Sometimes only certain doses and dosage forms of a particular drug, or specific combinations are discontinued.
Professional compounding pharmacists can help by obtaining the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) and compounding the needed drug in the most appropriate dose, dosage form, and flavor for each patient’s needs. They may also compound medications which are free of problem-causing additives and allergens, such as sugar, alcohol, preservatives, dyes, and gluten.
Current Medication Shortages:
- Acetaminophen Suppositories
- Alprostadil (Caverject®)
- Armour Thyroid®
- Disulfuram (Antabuse®) Tablets
- Metformin HCl 100 mg/ml Oral Solution
- Methazolamide
- Metronidazole Tablets
- Mexilitene Capsules
- Oxsoralen®
- Panafil® ointment
- Sinemet® (carbidopa-levodopa) 25 mg/100 mg Tablets
- Tamiflu® Suspension
Veterinary Medications
- Cisapride
- Selegiline
Shortages of Injections, Ophthalmic Preparations, & other Sterile Medications:
- Acetylcysteine 20% Inhalation Solution
- Amikacin 50 mg/ml Injection
- Arginine HCl 100 mg/ml Injection Solution (PF)
- Betamethasone Acetate/Betamethasone Sodium Phosphate Injection Suspension
- Cyanocobalamin 1000 mcg/ml Injection Solution
- Dapiprazole 0.5% Opththalmic Solution
- Furosemide 50 mg/ml Injection
- Leucovorin 10 mg/ml Injection (PF)
- Lorazepam 2 mg/ml and 4 mg/ml Injection Solution
- NaCl 23.4%
- Succinylcholine Chloride Injection Solution
- Sulfacetamide Ophthalmic Ointment
- Urokinase® Injection
- Vitamin B-6 Injection
- Vitamin B-12 Injection
Discontinued Medications:
- Achromycin® Ointment
- Actifed®, Actifed-C® Liquid
- Azulfidine Liquid
- Butazolidin
- Cafergot®
- Chlorpromazine Oral Solution and Suppositories
- Chlortrimeton® Solution
- Cortef® Suspension
- Cromolyn
- Decaspray®
- Desonide® Otic
- Dexamethasone – various
- Dilantin® Suspension
- Hydergine® Liquid
- Indomethacin Suppositories
- Isoniazid Liquid
- Levsin®/Pb
- Meclan® Cream
- Midrin®
- Minocycline Suspension
- Mycelex-G® Vaginal Tablets
- Negatan®
- Nystatin Suspension
- Paregoric
- Robaxisal®
- Thioridazine Suspension
- Topicycline®
- Triamcinolone Acetonide
- Trimethobenzamide Suppositories
- Vancomycin Liquid
- Whitfield’s Ointment
In addition to the above, there are countless products and “remedies” that are no longer commercially available, but that physicians and patients report are very useful in treating a specific problem. Ask your compounding pharmacist for more information.
