Alert as common antidepressant is ‘out of stock’ in the UK
A widely prescribed antidepressant is out of stock in the UK, health chiefs have warned.
Venlafaxine tablets, used to treat depression, anxiety and even menopause, will be unavailable until November in a 75mg dosage.
The drug comes in various doses and is prescribed more than eight million times across Britain every year, according to the latest available data.
However, officials from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have warned that it’s now in short supply.
It comes after a turbulent summer of medicine shortages in Britain, which pharmacists have branded a ‘national crisis’.
Officials from the DHSC said new prescriptions of 75mg venlafaxine should not be issued until the shortage is over.
The warning relates to what’s known as immediate release tablets, prescribed for more severe mental health problems. These pills work quickly and are taken twice-daily.
Immediate release venlafaxine is not as widely prescribed as so-called modified release versions, which are taken once a day and work by releasing the medicine more slowly into the bloodstream.
A widely prescribed antidepressant is out of stock in the UK, health chiefs have warned
Some forms of modified release venlafaxine medicines can be used to support additional demand for the medicine, the DHSC said.
These include the 37.5mg, 75mg and 150mg capsules, as well as 75mg tablets.
However, they warned that other types cannot be prescribed to help.
Among them are 37.5mg immediate release tablets, as well as 37.5mg, 150mg, 225mg and 300mg modified release tablets.
The 225mg and 300mg capsules can also not be used to help, nor can the 37.5mg/5ml and 75mg/5ml liquid versions.
Venlafaxine is what’s known as a selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, or an SNRI for short.
SNRIs are thought to work by increasing the levels of chemicals that control mood, serotonin and noradrenaline.
When effective, the medicines are said to reduce stress levels and negative thoughts that come with conditions like depression and anxiety.
The drugs are different from other popular antidepressants, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which work by just increasing serotonin levels.
Someone may receive an SNRI when the SSRI has not been effective, or they have responded badly to SSRI side effects, for example.
According to DoseTrend, which tracks NHS prescribing data, more than eight million prescriptions for venlafaxine have been issued in the last 12 months.
The majority – around 6.5 million – were dispensed in England.
Venlafaxine is also used to treat hot flushes and night sweats for menopausal women, as the chemicals it targets can help to control temperature.
Experts have previously warned that access to other medicines in Britain is at its most fragile point in years, leaving patients at risk of stroke, heart attack and seizures.
‘These shortages are some of the most severe the UK has experienced,’ Oliver Picard, chair of the National Pharmacy Association, said.
‘Our medicine market has never been so volatile, with patients and primary caregivers at the sharp end of events outside of their control.
‘It is deeply distressing to find patients who have travelled from pharmacy to pharmacy to find the medicines they need without success.
‘Although medicine shortages are frustrating and worrying, we are clear that in some instances they pose a serious risk to patient safety.’
Ade Williams, lead pharmacist at Bedminster Pharmacy in Bristol, said the lack of drugs had become a ‘national crisis’.
Currently, there are shortages for a range of medicines in Britain including ramipril, propranolol, estradiol, creon, co-codamol, diamorphine and cefixime.
