Germany’s federal government has reported that 600 medicines have been affected by supply shortages so far in 2026. The German Bundestag published the figures on 6 November 2026 in a summary of the government’s reply to a parliamentary question. The count covers products within the remit of the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, known as BfArM. Whether patients can obtain treatment also depends on the availability of alternatives.
Key facts
- The 600 affected products are drawn from around 104,000 marketable medicines within BfArM’s remit.
- The government reply counts 415 reports involving active substances classed as relevant to supply and 171 involving substances classed as critical to supply.
- Section 52b of Germany’s Medicinal Products Act sets out the rules for monitoring supply and intervening in shortages.
What is the government counting?
The figure of 600 covers products affected by a supply shortage during the year to date. It gives neither the number in shortage on a particular date nor the number of patients who went without a medicine. The government points out that other products or formulations may be available. A disruption affecting one product can therefore leave another way of supplying the treatment.
The figures for active substances relevant or critical to supply count reports. That is a different unit from the number of affected products. The published summary gives no equivalent figure for the same period and group of products in the previous year, so it cannot establish whether the number has risen or fallen year on year.
What can authorities do about a shortage?
The Medicinal Products Act requires pharmaceutical companies and wholesalers distributing certain medicines that are actually marketed to ensure adequate and continuous supply. Full-range wholesalers generally have to hold at least two weeks of stock at average demand. For medicines on a special list under the Social Code, the minimum is four weeks. These are obligations for wholesalers. They do not show how long a particular medicine will be available at an individual pharmacy.
Under the law, BfArM publishes reported supply shortages and a current list of shortages involving active substances classed as relevant or critical to supply. An advisory board monitors and assesses availability. If a shortage relevant to supply is imminent or already present, the responsible federal authority can order measures after consulting the board. Those measures can include rationing. For medicines with active substances critical to supply, the authority may also order stockholding under those conditions.
Where the statutory conditions are met, BfArM can request information such as stocks, production data and sales volumes from pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers and wholesalers. Hospital pharmacies and pharmacies supplying hospitals can be required to provide stock data. For certain finished medicines, the law also requires pharmaceutical companies to submit regular data at intervals of no more than eight weeks. Those reports give the authority information for assessing individual cases beyond the aggregate figure in the government reply.
Hospitals have a separate route for notification. If a pharmaceutical company learns of a shortage of a prescription medicine used in inpatient care, it must inform hospitals promptly within its area of responsibility. The Bundestag summary announces no new measure for any of the 600 products. Changes affecting individual medicines can be tracked through BfArM’s ongoing publications and, where applicable, measures taken by the responsible authority.
