[ FDA DRUG SHORTAGES TRACKER ]

A drug shortage is a quality failure with a body count.

Live FDA drug shortage data (openFDA), grouped by status, availability, and therapeutic area. The FDA’s own root-cause analysis puts manufacturing and quality problems at the centre of the shortage crisis — which is why SPEQ treats the shortage list as a quality-system signal, not just a supply-chain one.

1,000
Active shortages tracked
844
Current
155
To be discontinued
214
Flagged unavailable
21% flagged unavailable · latest update 2026-07-27 · source: openFDA drug/shortages
NEW SHORTAGES POSTED · MONTHLY

By initial FDA posting date. openFDA lists active shortages, so older cohorts thin as entries resolve.

ACTIVE SHORTAGES BY THERAPEUTIC CATEGORY · TOP 10
WHY THIS SITS UNDER QUALITY, NOT LOGISTICS

The FDA’s 2019 report Drug Shortages: Root Causes and Potential Solutions found the dominant drivers are not scarcity of raw materials but a lack of incentives to produce, and manufacturing/quality problems that force production to stop. Mature quality systems — the difference a QMM assessment measures — are what keep a line running.

The economics of quality →FDA QMM framework →
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1,166 matching shortages
DrugCompanyTherapeutic areaAvailabilityStatusPosted
Bupivacaine Hydrochloride InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyAnesthesiaAvailableCurrent2018-02-20
Bupivacaine Hydrochloride InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyAnesthesiaAvailableCurrent2018-02-20
Morphine Sulfate InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyAnalgesia/AddictionUnavailableCurrent2017-10-31
Bupivacaine Hydrochloride InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyAnesthesiaAvailableCurrent2018-02-20
Dopamine Hydrochloride InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyCardiovascularAvailableCurrent2017-11-06
Bupivacaine Hydrochloride InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyAnesthesiaAvailableCurrent2018-02-20
Hydrocortisone Acetate SuppositorySuppositoryPadagis US LLCAnalgesia/Addiction—To Be Discontinued2026-07-23
Technetium TC-99M Pyrophosphate Kit InjectionInjectionSun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc.Medical ImagingUnavailableCurrent2023-12-27
Methylphenidate Hydrochloride Tablet, Extended ReleaseTabletSun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc.PsychiatryUnavailableCurrent2023-07-26
Bupivacaine Hydrochloride InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyAnesthesiaAvailableCurrent2018-02-20
Sufentanil Citrate InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyAnalgesia/AddictionUnavailableCurrent2022-05-03
Morphine Sulfate SuppositorySuppositoryPadagis US LLCAnalgesia/Addiction—To Be Discontinued2026-07-23
Dopamine Hydrochloride InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyCardiovascularAvailableCurrent2017-11-06
Meperidine Hydrochloride InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyAnalgesia/AddictionUnavailableCurrent2025-05-30
Heparin Sodium InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyHematologyAvailableCurrent2017-11-14
Lidocaine Hydrochloride InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyAnesthesiaAvailableCurrent2012-02-22
Atropine Sulfate InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyAnesthesiaUnavailableCurrent2012-01-01
Heparin Sodium InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyHematologyAvailableCurrent2017-11-14
Bupivacaine Hydrochloride InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyAnesthesiaAvailableCurrent2018-02-20
Hydrocortisone Acetate SuppositorySuppositoryPadagis US LLCAnalgesia/Addiction—To Be Discontinued2026-07-23
Lidocaine Hydrochloride InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyAnesthesiaAvailableCurrent2012-02-22
Morphine Sulfate InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyAnalgesia/AddictionAvailableCurrent2017-10-31
Lidocaine Hydrochloride InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyAnesthesiaAvailableCurrent2012-02-22
Sterile Water InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyOtherLimitedCurrent2021-12-03
Methotrexate Sodium InjectionInjectionHospira, Inc., a Pfizer CompanyRheumatologyAvailableCurrent2023-03-13
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Data: U.S. FDA openFDA drug/shortages API, which lists activeshortages (Current or To Be Discontinued) — it carries no per-record cause field, so SPEQ makes no root-cause claim on individual drugs; the quality framing above is cited FDA context. openFDA publishes shortage data for drugs only; SPEQ’s cross-industry coverage lives in the recall Explorer(drug, device & food).