Understanding medicine shortages and how we’re working to avoid them

Blog post by Ross Maclagan, ABPI Head of Supply and Distribution Policy

When it comes to medicines shortages, close working between the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare professionals, government and regulators is essential to ensure patients receive their medication on time and in full.

Recent reports from the House of Lords Public Services Committee and The Royal Pharmaceutical Society make clear that supply challenges are real, persistent and complex.

When medicine shortages occur, pharmacists and clinicians spend increasing amounts of time sourcing alternatives, but inevitably, treatments may be delayed, switched or interrupted. For patients, that uncertainty erodes confidence in the system designed to support them.

A global system for delivering medicines

Pharmaceutical manufacturing and supply is complex and highly regulated. Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), manufacturing stages and finished products often cross multiple borders before reaching patients.

The system requires an enormous level of coordination and foresight. It is not a system where corners can be cut. Regulation rightly safeguards quality and safety at every stage, meaning changes cannot be made overnight and resilience cannot be built through simplistic solutions.

The stockpiling debate

Some EU countries increasingly suggest that industry should build up large national stockpiles or onshore manufacturing. These approaches can seem logical but come with trade-offs. Excessive buffer stock in one country, for example, can reduce companies’ agility to meet demand in another. Medicines have limited shelf lives, and buffer stock sitting in warehouses can create waste, distort demand signals and limit the system’s ability to respond flexibly. Similarly, an overly narrow focus on domestic production risks introducing new vulnerabilities.

The UK benefits from being part of a global supply ecosystem. Resilience comes from diversification and smart collaboration, not isolation.

Collaboration is not optional

Encouragingly, both recent reports highlight solutions grounded in partnership. The Lords Committee calls for clearer national leadership, improved oversight and stronger coordination across government and the health system. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society emphasises better communication, earlier notification of shortages and empowering frontline professionals to respond quickly. The common thread is clear: improved visibility and collaboration across the whole sector.

Earlier visibility of potential supply disruptions, whether caused by manufacturing issues, raw material shortages or demand spikes, will allow stakeholders to act before patients are affected. That will mean:

• Sharing forecasts where possible.
• Signalling supply risks sooner.
• Aligning on mitigation plans across manufacturers, wholesalers, the NHS and regulators.

The earlier this enhanced collaboration begins, the more likely disruption can be minimised. And when shortages do occur, improved coordination of responses will reduce the impact on patients.

Where this has worked

A good example of this enhanced collaboration in action can be seen with the recent hormone replacement therapy (HRT) roundtable convened by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in response to urgent supply pressures.

Under DHSC direction, manufacturers came together, were able to understand NHS demand, and with this guidance were able to consider their own production and distribution planning, ultimately improving availability of the range of HRT medicines to patients.

This approach demonstrates what is possible when transparency and partnership are prioritised. It shows that when data is shared responsibly and rapidly, the system can address issues effectively.

Proactive planning  

The key shift required to make this effective approach routine is to move from reactive management of shortages to proactive resilience planning. That means treating medicines’ security as a strategic priority at national level, while also ensuring practical tools are available to manage issues locally when they arise.

Improved coordination between the major players involved in medicines supply chains will ensure consistent and resilient access to medicines and most importantly, minimise impacts on patients.

The pharmaceutical industry welcomes this approach and is committed to working in partnership across the system to strengthen supply resilience and achieve the shared goal of giving patients increased confidence that their medicine will be there when they need it.