Medicine Supply Notification: Oral contraceptive tablets (various brands) – Update
Update: (October 2021) Resupply date revised below*
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has issued a medicine supply notification for Oral Contraceptive tablets (various brands)
The following oral contraceptive preparations are currently out of stock
| Product affected | Ingredients | Anticipated Resupply Date | Management Advice |
| Dianette | Ethinylestradiol 35microgram/ Cyproterone 2mg tablets | w/c 26 April 2021 | Equivalent alternatives remain available from the following manufacturers; Strandhaven Ltd, Stragen UK Ltd and Kent Pharma. |
| Femodette | Ethinylestradiol 20microgram / Gestodene 75microgram tablets | w/c 03 May 2021 | Equivalent alternatives remain available from suppliers of the following brands: Akizza, Millinette and Sunya |
| Norgeston | Levonorgestrel 30mg tablets | w/c 19 April 2021 – w/c 31 May 2021 | No exact equivalent available in the UK market. Unlicensed imports have been sourced, lead times vary. |
| Norinyl-1 | Mestranol 50microgram / Norethisterone 1mg tablets | w/c 14 June 2021 | No exact equivalent available in the UK market. Unlicensed imports have been sourced, lead times vary. |
| Qlaira* | Estradiol Valerate / Dienogest (various strengths) | w/c 18 April 2022 | No exact equivalent available in the UK market. |
| Yiznell | Ethinylestradiol/drospirenone 30microgram/3mg tablets | w/c 19 April 2021 | Equivalent alternatives with same composition remain available from suppliers of following brands: Dretine, Yacella, Ellaite and Lucette. |
| Yasmin | w/c 3 May 2021 – w/c 5 July 2021 |
The following specialist importers have confirmed they can source unlicensed imports of Mestranol 50 microgram / Norethisterone 1mg tablets (Norinyl-1 equivalent) tablets (please note, there may be other companies that can also source supplies):
The following specialist importers have confirmed they can source unlicensed imports of Levonorgestrel 30mg (Norgeston equivalent) tablets (please note, there may be other companies that can also source supplies):
The following specialist importers have confirmed they can source unlicensed imports of Estradiol Valerate / Dienogest (various strengths) (Qlaira equivalent) tablets (please note, there may be other companies that can also source supplies):
If there is currently no listing on dm+d for the imported product for prescribers to select using their prescribing systems an EPS prescription for unlicensed product cannot be issued. Where a prescriber wishes to prescribe an unlicensed import, an FP10 paper prescription should be issued as ‘Required Product (Special Order)‘ and endorsed by the pharmacy as a non-Part VIIIB special with the following information:
- Amount dispensed over pack size used;
- Invoice price per pack size from which the order was supplied less any discount or rebate;
- Manufacturers’/importers’ MHRA licence number;
- Batch number of the product supplied;
- SP
The DHSC Medicine Supply Team provide a monthly update on potential supply issues affecting both primary and secondary care. This update is uploaded on the Specialist Pharmacy Services (SPS) website. To register, you will need an NHS email address. Once set up and logged in, you will be able to access it online.
