Medicine Supply Notification: Phenobarbital 15mg/5ml elixir
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has issued a medicine supply notification for Phenobarbital 15mg/5ml elixir.
MSN/2025/032
Tier 2 – medium impact
Date of issue: 20th May 2025
- Phenobarbital 15mg/5ml elixir (500ml) is out of stock until late June 2025.
- Specials of phenobarbital 15mg/5ml oral solution and phenobarbital 15mg/5ml oral suspension remain available (see Supporting information).
Unlicensed products
The following Specials manufacturers have confirmed they can source unlicensed phenobarbital 15mg/5ml oral liquid, solution or suspension. Please note there may be other companies that can also source supplies:
| Supplier | Formulation | Lead time | Pack sizes available | Shelf life | Pharmacy ordering process |
| Eaststone | Oral suspension | Next working day | Any | 90 days expiry | If pharmacy has an account, need to place order via Eaststone online portal. If pharmacy does not have an account, email: lucy.kirkpatrick@eaststone.co.uk |
| IPS Pharma | Oral solution (alcohol and sugar free) | Next working day delivery |
• 100ml • 200ml • 400ml • 500ml |
33 days from manufacture | Pharmacy needs to have an account set up. IPS Pharma – contact: Orders@ips-pharma.com |
| Nova Laboratories | Oral liquid (alcohol free) | Orders placed before 12pm will be manufactured for delivery on the next working day | • 100ml | 6 months | Pharmacy needs to have an account set up. Novo Laboratories – contact: sales@novalabs.co.uk (takes approx. 24 hours to set up). Order form is emailed for completion. |
| Nova Laboratories | Oral suspension (alcohol and sugar free) |
Orders placed before 12pm will be manufactured for delivery on the next working day | • 100ml • 150ml • 200ml • 300ml • 500m |
12 weeks from the date of manufacture | Pharmacy needs to have an account set up. Novo Laboratories – contact: sales@novalabs.co.uk (takes approx. 24 hours to set up). Order form is emailed for completion. |
| Rokshaw Laboratories | Oral solution (alcohol and sugar free) |
Depending on pack size and how much is ordered – this could be the next working day | • 150ml • 200ml • 500ml |
90 days from manufacture | If pharmacy has an account, need to place order via Rokshaw’s online portal. If pharmacy does not have an account, email: orders@rokshaw.co.uk, requesting for an order form to complete |
| SyriMed | Oral solution | Next day delivery | • 100ml • 500ml |
90 Days | Contact number: 0808 178 1914 https://www.bnsgroup.co.uk/login Email Order – specials@thamelabs.co.uk |
| SyriMed | Oral suspension | Next day delivery | • 100ml • 500ml |
90 days | Contact number: 0808 178 1914 https://www.bnsgroup.co.uk/login Email Order – specials@thamelabs.co.uk |
The full list of excipients should be requested from each supplier and reviewed for appropriateness as these can vary.
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 the unlicensed product cannot be issued. Where a prescriber wishes to prescribe a specially manufactured or imported product, an FP10 paper prescription should be issued as ‘phenobarbital 15mg/5ml oral liquid, solution or suspension (Special Order)’ and endorsed by the pharmacy as a non-Part VIII 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
Further guidance on how prescriptions for unlicensed specials should be written can be found here.
A copy of this medicine supply notification, including supporting information, has been sent to all pharmacy NHS email addresses.
DHSC and NHS England have launched an online Medicines Supply Tool, which provides up-to-date information about medicine supply issues. The contents of these MSNs can now be viewed on the Tool.
The Tool also details any changes to resupply dates and updates to the entries.
To access the Tool 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.
