Nabilone out of stock across UK until December — SkimNews
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- Nabilone is out of stock with wholesalers across the UK in both licensed strengths — the 1mg capsules have been disrupted since July and the 0.25mg strength became unavailable more recently — with Northern Ireland's Department of Health saying it is not expected to be available again until December.
- Brown & Burk UK Ltd, which supplies Nabilone to the UK, said technical issues forced it to manufacture the drug's active ingredient material all over again; it hopes to get stocks into the UK by the end of November, reaching users by mid-December.
- Preetham Hiremat, managing director of Brown & Burk UK Ltd, said manufacturing the active ingredient is "extremely challenging", requires "special, dedicated, experienced people" and dedicated equipment, and that global need for it is "only in [the] few grams a year".
- Northern Ireland's Department of Health said it is working with the UK's Department of Health and Social Care and health trusts to manage the disruption, and has issued guidance to clinicians on alternatives, including unlicensed imports of Nabilone where available.
- Jill Kenning, who has used Nabilone for 17 of the 18 years since her 2008 multiple sclerosis diagnosis, said running out last Tuesday has left her in constant eye pain she compares to being "stabbed with a hot poker", unable to sleep or eat, and in hospital for several nights; she said the substitutes her neurologist prescribed have not been effective and more should have been done to warn patients.
- MIMS' industry tracker shows the average number of drugs in short supply in the UK reached 157 this week, up from a low of 107 in January, with the number of shortages trending upward this year.
Why it matters: For Kenning and other Nabilone-dependent MS patients, the December return date defines months of unmanaged pain; her alternatives have failed and the DoH's guidance points to unlicensed imports where available. The 157 medicines now in short supply — up from a low of 107 in January — show a supply-chain failure, not a one-off stock error.
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