Drug Shortage Statistics: 2026 Report

Bottom Line

Most drugs on the FDA shortage list are injectables that have been short for three years or more, and pediatric, anesthesia and pain drugs make up a large part of the list. ASHP and the University of Utah counted 87 new shortages through September 2026, nearly 2025's full-year total of 89, and hospital pharmacy staff spend more than twice the hours on shortage work that they did in 2019.

Active Drug Shortages by Quarter, 2016 to 2026

The ASHP and University of Utah count every shortage that changes how a pharmacy prepares or dispenses a drug, and they publish the number still active at the end of each quarter. We compiled those quarter-end counts for the past 10 years.

Source: ASHP and University of Utah Drug Information Service, National Drug Shortages: January 2001 to September 2026, quarter-end data labels.

• Active shortages peaked at 323 in the first quarter of 2024 and fell to 225 by the third quarter of 2026, a drop of 98, or 30.3% (our calculation, 323 minus 225, divided by 323).
• The 2026 counts have stayed between 223 and 227 for three straight quarters, after the sharpest single-quarter fall in the series, from 253 to 214 in the third quarter of 2025.
• The active count is still 51 shortages, or 29.3%, above the 174 recorded in the third quarter of 2016 (our calculation, 225 against 174), so shortage work remains a standing part of hospital pharmacy jobs.

New Drug Shortages by Year, 2001 to 2026

Active counts show how many shortages are open at once. New counts show how many begin in a given year. This section compiles the yearly new-shortage totals ASHP and the University of Utah have published as numbers, along with the injectable share of new shortages for every year since 2001.

Source: Erin R. Fox, University of Utah Drug Information Service, statement to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, March 22, 2023; ASHP and University of Utah Drug Information Service, National Drug Shortages: January 2001 to September 2026.

• The 2011 total of 267 is the highest in the 26-year series. The 2025 total of 89 is the lowest of the four full years with a published total.
• With one quarter left, 2026 needs three more new shortages to pass the 2025 total (our calculation, 89 minus 87).
• Each new shortage means another drug for which purchasing teams must find a substitute or another supplier, and 2026 brought nearly a full year of that work in its first nine months.

ASHP's yearly chart splits each year's new shortages into injectable and non-injectable drugs. Table 3 shows the injectable share it labels for each year.

Source: ASHP and University of Utah Drug Information Service, National Drug Shortages: January 2001 to September 2026, New Shortages by Year, % Injectable chart labels.

• Injectables made up 62% of new shortages in 2026 through September, the highest share since 66% in 2021.
• The share has ranged from 39% in 2019 to 73% in 2001, and injectables were half or more of new shortages in 19 of the 26 years.
• The share has risen in each year since 2023, from 42% to 55% in 2024, 58% in 2025 and 62% in 2026 through September.
• Most injectables are given in hospitals and clinics, so a rising injectable share means hospital pharmacies handle more of each year's new shortages.

Drug Shortages by Therapeutic Class

ASHP and the FDA group shortages by drug class in different ways. This section sets out ASHP's six largest classes of active shortages and our count of the FDA's current shortages by the therapeutic categories the FDA assigns.

Source: ASHP and University of Utah Drug Information Service, National Drug Shortages: January 2001 to September 2026, Active Shortages Top 6 Drug Classes chart labels, September 30, 2026.

• The six classes account for 152 of the 225 active shortages, or 67.6% (our calculation).
• Central nervous system drugs are the largest class and the only one of the six where non-injectable products outnumber injectables, at 28 of 48.
• Three of every four chemotherapy shortages involve injectables (our calculation, 18 of 24), which are prepared and dosed in the pharmacy.

ASHP's September summary says multiple chemotherapy agents remain in short supply and that a key supplier hit by flooding in India will not reopen until 2028. AJMC's coverage of the second-quarter data pointed to ifosfamide, a chemotherapy drug used in curative regimens for testicular cancer and sarcoma, which entered a severe shortage after manufacturing quality problems at a key supplier. Ifosfamide appears on the FDA list too, first posted on June 12, 2026.

The FDA assigns each shortage one or more therapeutic categories. We counted each of the 69 current shortages once in every category it carries, so the counts in Table 5 add to more than 69.

Source: Healthcare Industry Reviews, Drug Shortage Study, analysis of the FDA Drug Shortages database via openFDA, current shortages as of October 23, 2026. Shortages can carry more than one category.

• Pediatric is the most common FDA category, on 17 of the 69 current shortages, and 15 of those 17 are injectables.
• Anesthesia and analgesia shortages have lasted longest, with a median of 8.6 years since first posting in each category (our calculation, n=10 and n=9). Local anesthetics such as lidocaine, bupivacaine and ropivacaine and opioid injections such as fentanyl, hydromorphone and morphine are among them.
• All seven psychiatry shortages are oral or other non-injectable products, including stimulants for ADHD, and they have the shortest median duration among categories with four or more shortages, at 3.3 years (our calculation, n=7).

What Causes Drug Shortages

FDA shortage records carry a reason field, and the University of Utah team asks manufacturers directly for causes. This section counts the reasons on the FDA's current shortage records and sets them beside ASHP's breakdown of 2025 shortages, then profiles the current shortages by DEA schedule and number of suppliers.

Source: Healthcare Industry Reviews, Drug Shortage Study, analysis of the FDA Drug Shortages database via openFDA, shortage_reason field, current shortages as of October 23, 2026. A shortage is counted under every reason that appears on any of its product records, so shares add to more than 100%.

• Demand increase is the most common specific reason, cited on 34 of the 69 current shortages.
• For 16 of the 69 shortages, or 23.2% (our calculation), the only reason on the record is "Other" or there is no reason at all.
• Erin Fox of the University of Utah Drug Information Service noted in 2023 Senate testimony that a manufacturing problem takes much longer to resolve than a shipping delay, so a vague reason leaves hospital buyers without a basis for planning how long to stretch supply.

ASHP and the University of Utah ask manufacturers directly for the cause of each shortage. AJMC's report on the second-quarter data gave the Drug Information Service's breakdown for shortages that began in 2025.

Source: ASHP and University of Utah Drug Information Service data, as reported by AJMC, "Active US Drug Shortages Rise for Third Straight Quarter," July 20, 2026.

• Manufacturers gave no reason, or an unknown one, for 59% of the shortages that began in 2025.
• In the same testimony, Fox said her team could identify the reason for only 44% of 2022 shortages.
• Without a stated cause, pharmacists cannot tell from a shortage notice whether other makers of the same drug are likely to be affected.

The FDA's records also show which current shortages involve controlled substances and how many companies make each drug. We looked up each shortage's product codes and their DEA schedule in the FDA's National Drug Code directory.

Source: Healthcare Industry Reviews, Drug Shortage Study, analysis of the FDA Drug Shortages database and the FDA National Drug Code directory via openFDA, October 23, 2026.

• 15 of the 69 FDA shortages involve controlled substances, 11 of them Schedule II opioids and stimulants and 4 of them Schedule IV benzodiazepines. ASHP puts controlled substances at 16% of its 225 active shortages, a different list with a different base.
• 9 of the 69 FDA shortages have only one company on the record, and 3 of the 4 shortages first posted in 2026 do. ASHP and the University of Utah, as reported by AJMC, found sole-source products in 48% of new 2026 shortages through June.
• 738 of the 1,142 product presentations on current shortages were shown as available, so pharmacists checking the FDA record can see which strengths and packages are still shipping.

ASHP's summary adds that 10% of new 2026 shortages are contrast agents used in CT and MRI scans, and that shortages driven by demand, such as estradiol transdermal patches, leave some patients without treatment.

How Long Drug Shortages Last

A shortage stays on the FDA list until one or more manufacturers are in production and able to meet full market demand, according to a 2014 comparison of the two lists by the FDA Drug Shortage Staff, ASHP and the University of Utah Drug Information Service. This section measures how long the current shortages have been posted.

Source: Healthcare Industry Reviews, Drug Shortage Study, analysis of the FDA Drug Shortages database via openFDA, earliest initial posting date per shortage, as of October 23, 2026.

• 55 of the 69 current shortages, or 79.7%, were first posted three or more years ago (our calculation).
• Injectable shortages have a median of 5.5 years since first posting (n=51), against 3.4 years for other dosage forms (n=18), both our calculations.
• 59 of the 69, or 85.5%, were first posted before 2024 (our calculation), so most of today's FDA list began before the 2024 peak in the ASHP count.

Six current shortages were first posted 10 or more years ago, and all six are injectable. They are atropine sulfate and fentanyl citrate injections (January 2012), lidocaine hydrochloride and epinephrine bitartrate with lidocaine injections (February 2012), cefotaxime sodium powder for solution (February 2015) and sodium acetate injection (February 2016). The mean time since first posting across all 69 is 5.5 years (our calculation, n=69). The US Pharmacopeia, using the same FDA database with its own method, put the average duration of the 75 shortages active at the end of 2025 at 5.3 years, up from 4.3 years in 2024.

The year of first posting shows which waves of shortages are still open. 2023 contributed the most current shortages of any year, 17 of the 69, including carboplatin and methotrexate injections, lisdexamfetamine capsules and chewable tablets, extended-release methylphenidate tablets and penicillin G benzathine injection. 2022 contributed 11, among them three strengths of dextrose injection and the mixed amphetamine salts tablet. Only 10 of the 69 were first posted in 2024, 2025 or 2026.

Drug Discontinuations on the FDA List

The FDA database also tracks products that manufacturers plan to stop making. A discontinued product leaves fewer companies making a drug, and openFDA lists these products with the status To Be Discontinued. This section counts the drugs marked To Be Discontinued as of October 23, 2026.

Source: Healthcare Industry Reviews, Drug Shortage Study, analysis of the FDA Drug Shortages database via openFDA, status To Be Discontinued, as of October 23, 2026. Drugs can carry more than one category.

• openFDA lists 174 drugs marked To Be Discontinued, and 11 of them are also among the 69 current shortages.
• 127 of the 174 have a discontinuation date in 2026, the year of this count.
• Anti-infectives lead the discontinuations with 30 drugs, while they account for 7 current shortages, so formulary teams reviewing antibiotic supply need to check both lists.

Injectables make up a smaller share of discontinuations than of current shortages, 42.0% against 73.9% (our calculations, n=174 and n=69).

Why ASHP and FDA Drug Shortage Counts Differ

The two counts in this study rest on different definitions. This section lays out how each source decides what goes on its list and when a shortage comes off.

Source: ASHP, Drug Shortages FAQs; FDA Drug Shortage Staff, ASHP and University of Utah Drug Information Service, Contrasting the FDA (CDER) and ASHP Drug Shortage Websites (2014); ASHP and University of Utah Drug Information Service, National Drug Shortages: January 2001 to September 2026; FDA Drug Shortages database.

• ASHP keeps a drug on its list while any supplier is short, so products on allocation or available only in some forms stay counted.
• The FDA can mark a shortage resolved once one or more manufacturers can meet full market demand, even if other makers' products are still out.
• A drug that leaves the FDA list can still be hard to get from some suppliers, so a pharmacy that checks only the FDA list can miss shortages ASHP still tracks.

ASHP posts each shortage reported through its online form once it is investigated and confirmed, usually within 24 to 72 hours, according to its FAQ. A drug can appear on one list and not the other. ASHP's FAQ gives epinephrine available in vials but not syringes as one case that stays on its list. The difference also shows up in new shortages. USP's analysis of the FDA database counted 4 new FDA shortages in 2025, while ASHP counted 89 new shortages that year.

The Workload Drug Shortages Put on Hospital Pharmacy Teams

Every shortage means finding substitutes, rebuilding order sets and updating systems. This section draws on Vizient's 2024 drug shortage survey and Fox's testimony to show what that work costs in staff time.

Source: Vizient, Beyond the Shortage: The Hidden Cost of Drug Supply Chain Disruptions, June 2025, Figure 5.

• Across the 132 responding facilities, pharmacists and purchasing staff spent the most time on shortages, at 20.7 and 20.2 hours a week.
• Pharmacists at general facilities spent 24.2 hours a week on shortages in 2024, up from 10.5 hours in Vizient's 2019 survey.
• Informatics pharmacists spent 5.9 hours a week on shortage work across all 132 facilities, and 6.9 hours at the 40 pediatric facilities.
• The heaviest shortage workload falls on purchasing staff at pediatric facilities and on pharmacists at general facilities, so staffing for shortage work can follow facility type.

Vizient extrapolated its survey to all US hospitals and estimated 20.2 million hours a year spent managing shortages in 2024, up from 8.6 million in 2019, with labor costs rising from USD 359 million to USD 894 million. Its respondents tracked a median of 43 active shortages at the time of the survey (n=132), 50 at pediatric facilities (n=40) and 38 at general facilities (n=92). 74% of the 132 facilities said shortages pushed them over their pharmacy budgets. Among the 56 facilities that reported on secondary distributor purchases, 46% had bought at least one drug outside authorized channels, and those buyers paid about 214% more than their usual pre-shortage prices. Modifying electronic health records appears among the mitigation strategies Vizient lists.

Fox's testimony gives a sense of scale for one event. After Hurricane Maria disrupted a key saline manufacturer, switching just two drugs from saline bags to syringes at her health system required review and changes to 700 patient treatment plans in a single day. ASHP's September summary says the work to change pharmacy automation and electronic health records adds to the strain of pharmacy staff shortages.

What Drug Shortage Statistics Mean for Hospitals and Patients in 2027

The age of the shortages on the FDA list means most of next year's shortage work in hospital pharmacies and purchasing offices will involve drugs that are already short. Budgets and staffing plans can treat shortage management as a fixed workload, with informatics time set aside for the record changes each substitution requires.

Pediatric and anesthesia drugs are among the largest FDA categories and chemotherapy is ASHP's third-largest class, and anesthetic shortages are among the longest running. A service that gives these drugs every day gains the most from substitution protocols agreed before the next shortage begins.

A monthly prescription for an opioid or an ADHD stimulant can be hard to fill when controlled substances are short, and a CT or MRI scan can be delayed when contrast agents are short. Pharmacists and prescribers can flag patients with these prescriptions or scans early.

So if you run a hospital pharmacy, check both the ASHP and FDA lists each week and review your substitution plans for every drug on either one.

Data Collection and Methodology

ASHP and University of Utah counts. Quarter-end active shortage counts from the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2026 and the injectable share of new shortages for each year from 2001 to 2026 were taken from the data labels on the charts in the September 2026 report. Counts for the six largest drug classes come from the injectable and non-injectable labels on its September 30, 2026 class chart; totals and injectable shares are our sums and divisions. The chart does not label total new shortages for each year, so yearly totals appear only where ASHP or the Drug Information Service published them as numbers. The 2001, 2011 and 2022 totals come from the March 2023 testimony, and the 2025 and January to September 2026 totals come from the September 2026 summary. The 2025 cause shares and the sole-source share come from AJMC's report on the June 2026 data.

FDA dataset. We downloaded all 1,611 product records in the openFDA drug shortages endpoint (data updated October 23, 2026) and kept the 1,142 records with status Current, grouped into 69 shortages by generic name. The count of 69 is the same as the number of drugs shown as Currently in Shortage on the FDA's Drug Shortages page on October 24, 2026. Records marked Resolved (5 drugs) are excluded. Records marked To Be Discontinued (174 drugs) are excluded from the current shortage counts and analyzed separately in Table 10, grouped by generic name in the same way, with the year taken from each drug's earliest discontinuation date. Time since first posting runs from the earliest initial posting date among a shortage's records to October 23, 2026, in years of 365.25 days. The FDA's generic name includes the dosage form and, for some drugs, the strength, so dextrose 5%, 10%, 50% and 70% injections count as four shortages and lisdexamfetamine capsules and chewable tablets count as two. A shortage or discontinued drug is injectable if any of its records has the dosage form Injection or Powder, For Solution. The two powders on the current list, cefotaxime sodium and streptozocin, are reconstituted for intravenous or intramuscular injection. Peritoneal dialysis solutions, listed with the dosage form Solution, are not counted as injectable. A record with no dosage form is coded by its route or product label. Seven To Be Discontinued drugs and no current shortages have such records, and only one of them, the adalimumab-ryvk kit (Simlandi, a subcutaneous injection), is counted as injectable. Each shortage is counted in every therapeutic category and every stated reason that appears on any of its records. Company counts are the distinct company names across a shortage's records. DEA schedules come from looking up every product code on a shortage's records in the openFDA National Drug Code directory. A shortage is scheduled if any product found in the directory carries a schedule. Three shortages (streptozocin powder, bacitracin ophthalmic ointment and conivaptan injection) had no product code found in the directory and are treated as unscheduled. Availability values with spelling variants were recoded, with "Unvailable" counted as Unavailable and with "Limited Availalbility" and one entry giving a June 2027 recovery date counted as Limited Availability. Percentages are rounded once from the unrounded value, half up, to one decimal place.

Outside figures. Vizient's hours and labor costs are its national extrapolations from 132 survey responses collected in 2024. USP's counts use its own definition of new shortages in the FDA database and cover shortages active at the end of 2025. USP's press release gives the 2025 average duration as over 5 years, and the 5.3-year figure is as reported in CIDRAP's coverage of the report. Figures from different sources count different lists and are not combined.

Sources

1. Healthcare Industry Reviews, Drug Shortage Study: analysis of the ASHP and University of Utah quarterly and yearly shortage counts and of all 69 current shortages, their 1,142 product presentations and the 174 drugs marked To Be Discontinued in the openFDA drug shortages data, conducted October 2026.
2. ASHP and University of Utah Drug Information Service, National Drug Shortages: January 2001 to September 2026 (statistics page and report PDF)
3. FDA, Drug Shortages database and openFDA drug shortages and National Drug Code endpoints, data updated October 23, 2026
4. ASHP, Drug Shortages FAQs
5. Erin R. Fox, Statement for the Record, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, "Drug Shortage Health and National Security Risks: Underlying Causes and Needed Reforms," March 22, 2023
6. AJMC, "Active US Drug Shortages Rise for Third Straight Quarter," July 20, 2026
7. US Pharmacopeia, 2025 USP Annual Drug Shortages Report, June 9, 2026, and USP press release on the report, June 9, 2026
8. Vizient, Beyond the Shortage: The Hidden Cost of Drug Supply Chain Disruptions, June 2025
9. FDA Drug Shortage Staff, ASHP and University of Utah Drug Information Service, Contrasting the FDA (CDER) and ASHP Drug Shortage Websites: What are the differences? (August 2014, PDF)
10. CIDRAP, US drug shortages have declined but now drag on for an average of 5 years, report shows, June 2026