‘Serious remedy scarcity’ warning as disaster hits hundreds of thousands of Brits
A ‘serious shortage protocol’ has been issued for ramipril 1.25mg capsules, a high blood pressure medication, as pharmacies across the UK warn of growing supply problems affecting millions of patients
A warning has been issued (Image: Bloomberg, Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A major warning has been issued about supply problems hitting common medicines following a “serious” shortage alert. Authorities have revealed that a supply crisis is now affecting a particular strength of ramipril, a blood pressure drug, throughout the UK.
The medication, which comes in tablet, capsule or liquid form, functions by expanding blood vessels and helping the heart circulate blood more efficiently around the body.
A “serious shortage protocol” alert has been released for ramipril 1.25mg capsules, stating patients can only receive one month’s supply at a time. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) revealed three million items of ramipril are dispensed monthly in England.
NPA chairman Olivier Picard said: “We are concerned by this recent shortage, with a number of pharmacies being unable to order some strengths of ramipril as well as seeing the cost soar in recent weeks, in instances where stock can be found. Millions of patients rely on ramipril and although there are alternative medicines available, supplies of these must be managed carefully by the Government to ensure subsequent demand can be met.
“The Government should allow pharmacists to make substitutions to ramipril prescriptions to ensure patients do not have to go back to their GP to find an alternative. Pharmacies are increasingly facing supply problems affecting everyday medicines on which millions rely every day.
“While the medicine supply chain is extremely complex, the rising problem of shortages across a wide range of medication is extremely worrying for patients and heartbreaking for pharmacists who go to great lengths to ensure they don’t turn them away. Fragility in the global supply chain is worsened by international instability and the fact that long term under-funding of pharmacies has driven down the price for medicines in the UK to unsustainable levels.”
The warning in full:
- There are intermittent supply issues with ramipril 1.25mg capsules until the end of May 2026.
- Ramipril 1.25mg and 2.5mg tablets and ramipril oral solution remain available but cannot support increased demand.
- A Serious Shortage Protocol (SSP) for ramipril 1.25mg capsules was issued on 22/04/2026 which allows community pharmacists to limit supply to one month.
- Other low dose formulations of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin-II receptor blockers (ARBs) remain available, some of which can support increased demand (see Supporting information)
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