Canada Drug Shortages in September 2026: What Started and What Ended

1September 2026 at a glance

This is a recap of every Health Canada drug shortage report that started or ended in September 2026, based on the reports manufacturers filed with Drug Shortages Canada. Statuses are as of October 4, 2026 — click any product to see its live status today.

• 164 products went into shortage (shortage start date in September). By early October, 117 were still in active shortage, 28 were reported as anticipated, and 19 had already been resolved again.
• 140 shortages were resolved (shortage end date in September). The median resolved shortage had lasted about 8 weeks, but 17 of them had dragged on for more than a year.
• Only one new Tier 3 shortage: an anticipated shortage of Pfizer's dextrose injection, with an estimated end date of February 15, 2027. Tier 3 is Health Canada's highest-impact rating — see what Tier 3 means.
• Manufacturing problems drove most of it. About three in four new September shortages cited “disruption of the manufacture of the drug”; a smaller number cited increased demand or shipping delays.
• Generic makers dominated. Apotex alone accounted for roughly a third of new shortage reports, followed by JAMP, AA Pharma, and Sandoz.

2Notable new shortages

• Semaglutide: Apo-Semaglutide 0.68 mg and 1.34 mg (Apotex) went short on September 15. See the Ozempic and GLP-1 guide.
• Blood thinners: Apo-Clopidogrel 75 mg and 300 mg, and Apo-Rivaroxaban 15 mg (estimated back late October). Don't skip doses of a blood thinner — ask your pharmacist for another manufacturer's version.
• Antidepressants and antipsychotics: Zoloft 100 mg, Sanis sertraline 25 mg, the tricyclics Jamp-Amitriptyline 25 mg and Aventyl (nortriptyline) 10 mg and 25 mg, and an anticipated shortage of Sandoz olanzapine 2.5 mg and 5 mg.
• Stomach-acid medications (PPIs): Pariet 20 mg, Sandoz rabeprazole 20 mg, Apo-Omeprazole 20 mg, Apo-Lansoprazole 30 mg, and Apo- and Sandoz pantoprazole 40 mg. See the PPI shortage guide.
• Acetaminophen: several Apotex acetaminophen tablets and caplets (325 mg and 500 mg), with estimated end dates running from mid-October to January 2027. Other brands of acetaminophen remain widely available.
• ADHD: Apo-Amphetamine XR 5 mg went short, and Dexedrine Spansule 10 mg was reported as an anticipated shortage. See the ADHD medication guide.
• Methadone: Metadol 1 mg and 10 mg (Knight Therapeutics), both estimated back in early October.
• Glaucoma drops: Xalacom and JAMP latanoprost/timolol, plus two brimonidine products and an anticipated shortage of Combigan. See the glaucoma eye drop guide.

3Notable shortages that ended

• Long-running shortages finally over: Mylan-Verapamil SR 180 mg and 240 mg (about 4 years), Apo-Pregabalin 150 mg and ACH-Pregabalin 50 mg and 150 mg (1.5 to 2+ years), PMS-ISMN 60 mg (about 3 years — but it has since been discontinued), and ACH-Montelukast 10 mg (over 2 years).
• Antidepressants back: Teva-Bupropion XL 150 mg and 300 mg, Taro- and Teva-Duloxetine, and ACT Venlafaxine XR 75 mg.
• Pain and seizure medications back: Apo-Hydromorphone 1 mg, 2 mg, and 4 mg, and Apo-Levetiracetam 250 mg, 500 mg, and 750 mg.
• Others: Teva-Quetiapine XR 150 mg and 300 mg, Janumet XR, Lupin-Estradiol 1 mg and 2 mg, and two lisdexamfetamine generics (Apo- and Taro-).

“Resolved” means the manufacturer has told Health Canada supply is back. Pharmacies can take a few days to a few weeks to restock, so if your pharmacy still can't fill a resolved product, ask them to order it from their wholesaler.

4Discontinued in September

These products were permanently discontinued in September — they won't come back, so you'll need your prescriber or pharmacist to move you to an alternative (shortage vs. discontinued):

• Hadlima 40 mg and Hadlima PushTouch 40 mg (adalimumab) (Samsung Bioepis)
• Oxytocin Injection USP 10 units (Pfizer)
• Salofalk 2 g (mesalazine enema) (AbbVie)
• Synphasic 28 (birth control pill) (Pfizer)
• Viaderm KC cream (Taro Pharmaceuticals)
• PMS-ISMN 60 mg (isosorbide mononitrate) (Pharmascience)

5Full list: products that went into shortage

Grouped by what the medication treats, then by active ingredient. Products with no note were still in active shortage on October 4.

6Full list: shortages resolved

Each entry shows how long that shortage lasted, from its reported start date to its end date.

7If your medication is on the list

A shortage usually affects one manufacturer's product at one strength — other brands of the same drug are often still available. Ask your pharmacist whether they can switch you to another manufacturer, and read what to do when your medication is in shortage. To get an email when a product's status changes, open its page on MedShort and use “Notify me”.