Medicine Supply Notification: Acetazolamide (Diamox® SR) 250mg modified-release capsules

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has issued a Medicine Supply Notification (MSN) for Acetazolamide (Diamox® SR) 250mg modified-release capsules.

MSN/2022/006

Tier 2 – medium impact

Date of issue: 10/02/2022

  • Acetazolamide (Diamox® SR) 250mg modified-release capsules are out of stock from mid-February until the end of May 2022.
  •  Acetazolamide immediate release 250mg tablets remain available and can support an uplift in demand.
  • Acetazolamide oral suspension specials are also available in various strengths.

The following companies have indicated they can supply specials of acetazolamide oral suspension in various strengths (please note, there may be other companies that can manufacture 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 Acetazolamide oral suspension cannot be issued. Where a prescriber wishes to prescribe an unlicensed import, an FP10 paper prescription should be issued as ‘Acetazolamide oral suspension (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.

New shortages not listed on the SPS website, can be reported using our shortage reporting tool.