How long has each drug been in shortage in the US?
The FDA’s shortage data returns 1,177 open records, which is the figure most systems will read. Those records describe 71 drugs — the agency writes a separate entry for each package presentation from each manufacturer, so one medicine can appear ninety times. This table collapses the list to the drug level and adds the thing the raw file does not present: how long each has been there. The median is four years and five months. Fifty of the 71 are injectables, and so are 26 of the 29 that have been listed for five years or more.
What the data shows
- The list is 71 drugs, not 1,177 — a 16.6-fold difference between rows and medicines. No medicine has joined or left the list since 9 August; the last change was rifapentine tablets coming off it in early August.
- The median drug has been listed for 4.5 years. 29 of 71 have been listed five years or more and six for a decade or more.
- 50 of the 71 are injectables, and among the 29 longest-running shortages the figure is 26. Anaesthesia is the largest therapeutic category at ten, then cardiovascular at nine, then analgesia at eight.
- Only three of the 71 were first listed in 2026 — furosemide oral solution in March, isocarboxazid tablets in April and ifosfamide injection in June. This is a stable inventory rather than a fast-moving one.
- 762 of the 1,177 records (65%) describe that specific package as currently available. Six drugs show every listed presentation available; eleven show none.
The data
Download CSV 71 rows 7 columns free to reuse with credit
| Drug | Therapeutic category | Filings | Suppliers | Marked available | Listed since | Years listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atropine Sulfate Injection | Anesthesia | 19 | 8 | 11 | 2012-01-01 | 14.6 |
| Fentanyl Citrate Injection | Analgesia/Addiction | 19 | 3 | 12 | 2012-01-01 | 14.6 |
| Epinephrine Bitartrate, Lidocaine Hydrochloride Injection | Anesthesia | 22 | 2 | 12 | 2012-02-22 | 14.5 |
| Lidocaine Hydrochloride Injection | Anesthesia | 67 | 10 | 47 | 2012-02-22 | 14.5 |
| Cefotaxime Sodium Powder, for Solution | Anti-Infective | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2015-02-17 | 11.5 |
| Sodium Acetate Injection | Endocrinology/Metabolism | 15 | 5 | 13 | 2016-02-03 | 10.6 |
| Sodium Bicarbonate Injection | Endocrinology/Metabolism | 15 | 5 | 7 | 2017-03-01 | 9.5 |
| Dobutamine Hydrochloride Injection | Cardiovascular | 10 | 3 | 9 | 2017-11-06 | 8.8 |
| Dopamine Hydrochloride Injection | Cardiovascular | 11 | 3 | 8 | 2017-11-06 | 8.8 |
| Heparin Sodium Injection | Hematology | 8 | 4 | 8 | 2017-11-14 | 8.8 |
| Hydromorphone Hydrochloride Injection | Analgesia/Addiction | 26 | 4 | 18 | 2017-10-31 | 8.8 |
| Morphine Sulfate Injection | Analgesia/Addiction | 24 | 5 | 16 | 2017-10-31 | 8.8 |
| Bumetanide Injection | Cardiovascular | 12 | 5 | 11 | 2017-12-13 | 8.7 |
| Bupivacaine Hydrochloride Injection | Anesthesia | 56 | 8 | 45 | 2018-02-20 | 8.5 |
| Bupivacaine Hydrochloride, Epinephrine Bitartrate Injection | Anesthesia | 20 | 2 | 12 | 2018-02-20 | 8.5 |
| Ketorolac Tromethamine Injection | Analgesia/Addiction | 25 | 7 | 11 | 2018-03-23 | 8.4 |
| Ropivacaine Hydrochloride Injection | Anesthesia | 49 | 5 | 33 | 2018-03-23 | 8.4 |
| Lorazepam Injection | Neurology | 11 | 4 | 2 | 2018-05-03 | 8.3 |
| Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate Injection | Dermatology | 19 | 5 | 17 | 2019-02-08 | 7.5 |
| Echothiophate Iodide Ophthalmic Solution | Ophthalmology | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2019-09-24 | 6.9 |
| Dexmedetomidine Hydrochloride Injection | Anesthesia | 56 | 16 | 46 | 2020-04-10 | 6.4 |
| Furosemide Injection | Cardiovascular | 27 | 8 | 15 | 2020-04-07 | 6.4 |
| Midazolam Hydrochloride Injection | Anesthesia | 26 | 6 | 15 | 2020-04-02 | 6.4 |
| Amino Acid Injection | Gastroenterology | 16 | 3 | 13 | 2020-12-08 | 5.7 |
| Azacitidine Injection | Oncology | 9 | 9 | 5 | 2020-12-18 | 5.7 |
| Valproate Sodium Injection | Neurology | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2020-12-30 | 5.7 |
| Desmopressin Acetate Spray | Hematology | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2021-03-12 | 5.5 |
| Rifampin Injection | Anti-Infective | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2021-02-17 | 5.5 |
| Triamcinolone Hexacetonide Injection | Rheumatology | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2021-05-04 | 5.3 |
| Sterile Water Injection | Other | 12 | 5 | 9 | 2021-11-23 | 4.8 |
| Methylprednisolone Acetate Injection | Rheumatology | 23 | 5 | 10 | 2021-12-15 | 4.7 |
| Rifampin Capsule | Anti-Infective | 9 | 2 | 5 | 2021-12-22 | 4.7 |
| Dextrose Monohydrate 50% Injection | Endocrinology/Metabolism | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2022-01-13 | 4.6 |
| Metronidazole Injection | Anti-Infective | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2022-01-13 | 4.6 |
| Dextrose Monohydrate 10% Injection | Endocrinology/Metabolism | 13 | 4 | 12 | 2022-03-01 | 4.5 |
| Dextrose Monohydrate 5% Injection | Endocrinology/Metabolism | 36 | 4 | 34 | 2022-02-14 | 4.5 |
| Conivaptan Hydrochloride Injection | Cardiovascular | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2022-03-14 | 4.4 |
| Sufentanil Citrate Injection | Analgesia/Addiction | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2022-05-03 | 4.3 |
| Remifentanil Hydrochloride Injection | Analgesia/Addiction | 9 | 3 | 6 | 2022-06-28 | 4.2 |
| Flurazepam Hydrochloride Capsule | Neurology | 6 | 2 | 4 | 2022-08-03 | 4.1 |
| Streptozocin Powder, For Solution | Oncology | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2022-07-12 | 4.1 |
| Amphetamine Aspartate Monohydrate, Amphetamine Sulfate, Dextroamphetamine Saccharate, Dextroamphetamine Sulfate Tablet | Psychiatry | 73 | 11 | 49 | 2022-10-12 | 3.9 |
| Etomidate Injection | Anesthesia | 18 | 6 | 15 | 2022-10-05 | 3.9 |
| Albuterol Sulfate Solution | Pediatric | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2022-10-25 | 3.8 |
| Quinapril Hydrochloride Tablet | Cardiovascular | 20 | 5 | 4 | 2023-01-19 | 3.6 |
| Quinapril/Hydrochlorothiazide Tablet | Cardiovascular | 9 | 3 | 3 | 2023-01-19 | 3.6 |
| Clonazepam Tablet | Neurology | 40 | 6 | 39 | 2023-03-10 | 3.5 |
| Methotrexate Sodium Injection | Rheumatology | 14 | 5 | 10 | 2023-03-13 | 3.5 |
| Rocuronium Bromide Injection | Anesthesia | 26 | 11 | 23 | 2023-02-15 | 3.5 |
| Clindamycin Phosphate Injection | Anti-Infective | 20 | 4 | 11 | 2023-03-21 | 3.4 |
| Carboplatin Injection | Oncology | 29 | 8 | 3 | 2023-04-28 | 3.3 |
| Penicillin G Benzathine Injection | Anti-Infective | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2023-04-26 | 3.3 |
| Sterile Water Irrigant | Gastroenterology | 9 | 3 | 3 | 2023-04-28 | 3.3 |
| Liraglutide Injection | Endocrinology/Metabolism | 9 | 3 | 5 | 2023-07-18 | 3.1 |
| Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate Capsule | Psychiatry | 90 | 13 | 54 | 2023-07-14 | 3.1 |
| Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate Tablet, Chewable | Psychiatry | 18 | 3 | 18 | 2023-07-14 | 3.1 |
| Methylphenidate Hydrochloride Tablet, Extended Release | Psychiatry | 34 | 6 | 20 | 2023-07-26 | 3.1 |
| Cromolyn Sodium Concentrate | Pulmonary/Allergy | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2023-11-03 | 2.8 |
| Promethazine Hydrochloride Injection | Analgesia/Addiction | 10 | 2 | 5 | 2023-11-21 | 2.8 |
| Propranolol Hydrochloride Injection | Cardiovascular | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2023-10-31 | 2.8 |
| Technetium TC-99M Pyrophosphate Kit Injection | Medical Imaging | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2023-12-27 | 2.7 |
| Riluzole Oral Suspension | Neurology | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2024-01-26 | 2.6 |
| Dextrose Monohydrate 70% Injection | Endocrinology/Metabolism | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2024-10-11 | 1.9 |
| Hydroxocobalamin Injection | Other | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2024-11-04 | 1.8 |
| Peginterferon alfa-2a Injection | Antiviral | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2025-01-24 | 1.6 |
| Bacitracin Ophthalmic Ointment | Anti-Infective | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2025-03-03 | 1.5 |
| Methylphenidate Film, Extended Release | Psychiatry | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2025-02-28 | 1.5 |
| Meperidine Hydrochloride Injection | Analgesia/Addiction | 10 | 2 | 5 | 2025-05-30 | 1.2 |
| Furosemide Oral Solution | Cardiovascular | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2026-03-31 | 0.4 |
| Isocarboxazid Tablet | Psychiatry | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2026-04-16 | 0.4 |
| Ifosfamide Injection | Oncology | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2026-06-12 | 0.2 |
How this was built
Every record with status "Current" was pulled from the openFDA drug/shortages endpoint on 25 August 2026, paginating at limit=1000 until the reported total of 1,177 was reached.
Records were grouped by the generic_name field. The "filings" column is the number of records in that group; "suppliers" is the number of distinct company_name values; "available" is the number of records in the group whose availability field reads exactly "Available".
The "listed since" column is the earliest initial_posting_date among that drug’s currently-listed records, and "years" is the interval from that date to 9 August 2026.
The therapeutic category is the value most often listed first across a drug’s own records, with ties broken alphabetically. Earlier versions of this table took the first value on whichever record happened to come first, which is not stable — the FDA’s records disagree with one another about the ordering, and in two cases about the category itself. Adopting the stable rule moved two rows and nothing else.
The drug names were compared one by one against the "Currently in Shortage" table published by the FDA’s own drug shortage database at accessdata.fda.gov. That table lists the same 71 medicines, and the two sets match exactly. The check could not be run on 9 August, when the front end’s data service returned HTTP 503; it succeeded again on 25 August.
What this does not show
- The duration figures are a floor, not a measured shortage length. No record anywhere in the FDA’s shortage data is dated earlier than 1 January 2012, and 25 current records carry that exact date while another 55 carry 22 February 2012 — the signature of the date the database was populated rather than of eighty shortages that began on those two days. The oldest entries have been listed for at least fourteen years and possibly longer.
- The start date is the earliest posting among a drug’s records that are currently listed. It does not establish that the drug has been continuously in shortage since then, and a product that was resolved and later relisted may carry an older date than its present shortage warrants.
- "In shortage" does not mean unavailable. The availability field is set per package, and most currently-listed packages are marked available; the column is included here so that can be seen rather than assumed.
- One record carries a misspelled availability value ("Unvailable") in the FDA’s own data. It is counted as written, not normalised.
- The FDA’s own records are not internally consistent about therapeutic category. Flurazepam hydrochloride capsules are filed under "Oncology" on some records and "Neurology" on others, and albuterol sulfate solution carries "Pulmonary/Allergy" and "Pediatric" in either order depending on the record. 344 of the 1,177 records list more than one category, and every record lists at least one, so no row reads "Not stated".
Use it
This table is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Republish it, chart it, or build on it — commercially or not — as long as you credit The Fold and link back to this page.
The Fold (2026). "FDA drug shortages by drug and duration, July 2026." https://fold-news.com/data/fda-drug-shortages-duration-2026 (updated August 25, 2026).