Shortages
Why medicines run short, which ones are short now, and what to ask. 20 articles: 5 data story, 9 explainers, 1 how-to guide, 5 history.
Shortage data
FDA's current drug shortages, by therapeutic area and dosage form
Of 69 drugs FDA listed as in shortage on Oct. 30, 2026, 49 were injections. Anesthesia, pain, IV nutrition and pediatric hospital drugs dominate, and the pills are mostly ADHD stimulants.
How long drug shortages last, measured on FDA's current list
The median drug on FDA's current shortage list was first posted 4.7 years ago. GxRadar sorted all 69 listings by age, form and reason, and checked what suppliers' recovery dates imply.
Pediatric drug shortages
Seventeen drugs on FDA's current shortage list carry the agency's Pediatric tag. Most are hospital injections, four have been listed since 2012, and research shows what shortages like these have cost children.
The 'to be discontinued' entries on FDA's shortage list
FDA listed 161 drugs as to be discontinued in October 2026, more than twice its current shortages. Most are one maker's exit from one product, and discontinuations rarely start a shortage on their own.
The longest-running drug shortages
Six drugs on FDA's current shortage list have been there for more than 10 years. GxRadar ranked all 69 current listings by first-posted date and looked at what they have in common.
Notable shortages
Lidocaine and bupivacaine, the local anesthetics that stay on FDA's shortage list
Lidocaine injection has been on FDA's shortage list since 2012 and bupivacaine since 2018. What the listings show, how FDA has patched supply, and why sterile numbing drugs keep running short.
The 2022 contrast dye shortage, when one Shanghai plant slowed CT scans nationwide
A lockdown shut the main US supplier's contrast plant in April 2022. FDA listed iohexol and iodixanol in shortage, allowed an unapproved import, and hospitals cut contrast use by as much as half.
The 2023 albuterol shortage, in the liquid hospitals use for nebulizers
FDA listed albuterol inhalation solution as in shortage in October 2022. A plant shutdown deepened it in 2023, and children's hospitals rewrote asthma protocols to use less of it.
The 2023 cancer drug shortage, from one plant to most US cancer centers
How the shutdown of one plant left most large US cancer centers short of cisplatin and carboplatin in 2023, what surveys and studies measured, how FDA refilled supply, and why carboplatin is still listed in 2026.
The 2024 IV fluid shortage
How hurricane damage to one North Carolina plant in September 2024 strained the US supply of IV fluids, what FDA and HHS did about it, and which fluids were still on FDA's shortage list in October 2026.
The amoxicillin shortage of 2022 and 2023
FDA declared a shortage of liquid amoxicillin on Oct. 28, 2022, during a surge of respiratory illness in children. What FDA said caused it, what it did, how prescribing shifted and what pharmacies paid.
The code-cart drugs on FDA's shortage list, from atropine to dextrose
Atropine has been in shortage since at least 2012, sodium bicarbonate since 2017 and 50% dextrose since 2022. In November 2025 one maker said it would stop making a set of emergency syringes.
The GLP-1 shortages and what they meant for compounding
How semaglutide and tirzepatide went onto FDA's shortage list in 2022, how they came off in 2024 and 2025, and why those dates set the rules for compounding pharmacies and outsourcing facilities.
Causes & tracking
FDA's essential medicines list, and what happened to it
A 2020 executive order had FDA list the medicines the US must always have. HHS later cut it to 86, Medicare now pays for stockpiles of them, and a third of today's shortages are on the original list.
How FDA tracks drug shortages
What counts as a shortage under federal law, how manufacturers must warn FDA under section 506C, what the CARES Act added in 2020, and what FDA's shortage database showed on Oct. 30, 2026.
How FDA works to prevent drug shortages, and where its powers stop
FDA says it helped prevent 330 shortages in 2025 using early warnings, fast-track reviews, extended expiration dates and temporary imports. Its own reports show what those tools can and cannot do.
Why antibiotics keep running short
Seven anti-infectives were on FDA's current shortage list in October 2026, one of them since 2015, and 30 more had discontinuation notices. Low prices and few makers explain much of it, federal research shows.
Why drug shortages happen
New US drug shortages fell from 251 in 2011 to four in 2025, yet old ones linger for years. FDA's 2019 root-cause analysis and later HHS research explain why cheap generic drugs run short and stay short.
Why sterile injectables dominate shortage lists
Injections made up 49 of the 69 drugs on FDA's current shortage list in October 2026, and their shortages ran longer. Sterile manufacturing, few producers and thin margins explain why, according to FDA and HHS.