Medicine Supply Notification – Xylocaine® 1% and 2% (lidocaine) with adrenaline 100micrograms/20ml (1:200,000) solution for injection vials – Updated
Update: (10/12/2021) Resupply date for Xylocaine 2% now expected to be mid-February 2022
MSN/2021/053
Tier 2 – medium impact
Date of issue: 08/11/2021
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has issued a medicine supply notification for Xylocaine® 1% and 2% (lidocaine) with adrenaline 100micrograms/20ml (1:200,000)
solution for injection vials
- Xylocaine® 1% with adrenaline is out of stock until late March 2022
- Xylocaine® 2% with adrenaline currently remains available but is likely to be out of stock by the end of December 2021. Resupply is expected mid-January 2022.
- Alternative licensed products containing bupivacaine and adrenaline remain available. Where these are not suitable, unlicensed alternatives may be sourced.
Unlicensed imports
The following specialist importers have confirmed they can source unlicensed lidocaine 1% or 2% with adrenaline 1:200,000 injection. Lead times may vary (please note, there may be other companies that can also source supplies):
- Alium Medical – 1%
- Durbin PLC – 1% and 2%
- Mawdsley’s Unlicensed – 1%
- Smartway Pharma – 1%
- Target Healthcare – 1% and 2%
- UL Global Pharma – 1% and 2%
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 lidocaine 1% or 2% with adrenaline 1:200,000 injection cannot be issued. Where a prescriber wishes to prescribe an unlicensed import, an FP10 paper prescription should be issued as ‘ lidocaine 1% or 2% with adrenaline 1:200,000 injection (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;
- Initials ‘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.
New shortages not listed on the SPS website, can be reported using our shortage reporting tool.
