Supply of antibiotic oral suspension products: Notice

Date issued: September 6, 2023

On this page

• Background
• What we're doing
• What you can do

Background

Some oral suspension antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections have been in shortage since fall 2022 due to high global demand. Amoxicillin is the most commonly prescribed oral suspension antibiotic. However, there are many different types of antibiotics available to treat patients in Canada.

Due to this ongoing global demand, Canada is experiencing shortages of the following oral suspension antibiotics:

• Amoxicillin, including amoxicillin-clavulanic acid combination products
• Cefprozil
• Cefuroxime
• Cephalexin
• Azithromycin
• Clarithromycin

New supplies of antibiotics are being received on a regular basis. This means that certain antibiotics may be available at different times.

There continues to be enough supply of oral tablet and capsule formats for these drugs to meet demand. As some patients can only use oral suspensions, manufacturers and distributors are carefully managing the limited supply to meet their needs.

What we're doing

Health Canada is working with stakeholders to closely monitor supply and demand. We're also coordinating the sharing of comprehensive information about this shortage between:

• companies
• health care providers
• provincial and territorial governments

As well, some health care professional associations have published information directed to doctors and pharmacists about the prescribing of oral suspension antibiotics to help conserve supply. These include the:

• Canadian Pharmacists Association: Antibiotic shortages
• Canadian Paediatric Society: Managing critical drug shortages in clinical practice

Demand for these products remains higher than normal for this time of year. Because these drugs are crucial, we're focusing on this shortage with stakeholders to find ways to:

• increase production
• speed up resupply
• find alternative supplies where possible
• share regular updates on the situation

Manufacturers are increasing their production as much as possible to build supplies. However, we do not expect inventory to return to normal until late 2023.

To help increase supply, we have authorized the importation of certain foreign-authorized oral suspension antibiotics for use in Canada. We will expand these authorizations if other acceptable sources of foreign-authorized supply are found.

We continue to closely monitor supply and demand with the help of manufacturers and distributors. This allows us to recognize signs of any possible shortages and to plan accordingly to reduce their impact on people in Canada.

What you can do

If you have any questions on the antibiotic oral suspension shortage, speak with your doctor or pharmacist. They may be able to provide you with advice on options or alternatives. We do not provide clinical advice to people in Canada.

Learn more about drug shortages in Canada and how Canadians can deal with drug shortages.

Related links

• Canadian Paediatric Society
• Canadian Pharmacists Association