Today, a Serious Shortage Protocol (SSP) has been issued for Utrogestan® 100 mg capsules throughout the UK. This will allow chemists to dispense a maximum of two months’ worth of medication per prescription. Ensuring sustained access for women who use this popular medication to manage menopause symptoms.
By temporarily limiting Utrogestan® prescriptions to a maximum supply of two months, more women will continue to have access to the medication.
Utrogestan®, a hormone replacement therapy (HRT) used to treat menopausal symptoms, is anticipated to be intermittently available until late 2023. The manufacturer, Besins, frequently makes deliveries but has struggled to keep up with rising demand. The manufacturer is taking measures to increase supply, but in the interim, the SSP will facilitate access to existing inventory.
The department continues to closely monitor the HRT supply situation and collaborate with industry, the NHS, and other critical partners to ensure the continued availability of HRT medicines throughout the United Kingdom for everyone who requires them.
Serious Shortage Protocol is a standard, frequently-utilized procedure for managing temporary and prospective medication supply issues. They save time for patients, chemists, and prescribers by permitting prescriptions to be issued without the prescriber’s authorization.
The government continues to ensure that women have access to menopause medications.
With the release of the Critical Shortage Protocol for HRT products only two of the twenty-two issued since April of last year remain in the UK.
Adding some HRT medications to the list of items that cannot be exported from the United Kingdom or hoarded there. Restrictions are employed to assist wholesalers in fulfilling their legal obligation to supply the UK market. But only when fewer trade-restrictive measures are insufficient.