Chemist warning over new shortage alert for key drugs Creon and Estradot

Chemist warning over new shortage alert for key drugs Creon and Estradot Patients who can’t get hold of the drugs may suffer from severe diarrhoea, weight loss, and malnutrition Pharmacists have warned of a serious shortage of two key NHS-prescribed drugs which will now now be in serious shortage until 2027 at the earliest. A new alert has been issued by the Department of Health and Social Care Creon and Estradot. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has warned that the latest serious shortage protocol (SSP) extensions for Creon and Estradot mean they are subject to the longest-running medicine shortages on record. The Department of Health and Social Care announced that SSPs for Creon 25000 gastro-resistant capsules and Estradot 50 micrograms, 75 micrograms, 100 micrograms and 25 micrograms 24-hour patches have been extended until Friday January 8, 2027. The current SSP for Creon 10000 gastro-resistant capsules, which was issued in August and was its eighth in 21 months, expires at 11:59pm today. Creon is a prescription medication used to treat exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), a condition where the pancreas does not make enough digestive enzymes. Estradot is a transdermal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) patch used to relieve symptoms of the menopause and prevent postmenopausal osteoporosis PA chair Olivier Picard said: “It is deeply depressing for pharmacies and patients alike that Creon and Estradot have now had their unhappy title extended as being Britain’s longest running medicine shortage on record. Creon is a lifeline to patients that depend on it, helping people with Pancreatic Cancer and Cystic Fibrosis digest food.” Picard said NPA members told it patients were being “forced to skip meals and travel many miles to source supplies”. If patients can’t get hold of the drug, they may suffer from severe diarrhoea, weight loss, and malnutrition. In September, he called on health secretary Yvette Cooper to urgently set up a taskforce to address “fragility” in the global medicines supply chain. Picard insisted the latest SSPs were “an alarm call” to Cooper to act. “We have been clear for many years that although supply problems are frustrating to both patients and pharmacies, they can also present a serious risk to patient safety,” he said. “Creon is a lifeline to patients who depend on it, helping people with pancreatic cancer and cystic fibrosis digest food. “Although we recognise support is being put in place, pharmacies continue to report to the NPA that they are finding patients who are being forced to skip meals and travel many miles to source supplies. “This must act as an alarm call to the new Secretary of State to convene a task force to fully grasp this issue, bringing together all aspects of the supply chain.” Picard also urged Labour to “urgently” publish the outcome of a public consultation to allow pharmacists to substitute prescription drugs that are out of stock for safe alternative strengths or formulation. Picard said allowing pharmacies to make substitutions to prescriptions when medicines are out of stock will prevent patients having to go back to their GP. Pancreatic Cancer UK said that while the shortages are ongoing, the situation has improved for people with the cancer. Commenting on the Creon shortage, Anna Jewell, Director of Services, Research and Influencing at Pancreatic Cancer UK, said: “The supply situation is more stable, compared to when the shortages were at their most severe. However, we continue to do all we can to keep this issue high on the Government’s agenda. “We know how stressful uncertainty over obtaining supply can be, and the impact on people’s physical and mental health. “More needs to be done to make access to Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy (PERT) easier and more reliable for people.”