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Ophthalmic drugs account for a significant share of US drug shortages

Ophthalmology 360

Key Takeaways

  1. Ophthalmic medications accounted for about 15% of active U.S. drug shortages from 2001 to 2024 and had a longer median shortage duration than drugs overall.
  2. Shortage duration differed by patent status, with patent-protected ophthalmic drugs experiencing shorter mean shortages than off-patent medications.

Ophthalmic medications make up a substantial portion of U.S. drug shortages and tend to have longer median shortage durations than drugs overall, according to a retrospective review of the University of Utah Drug Information Service (UUDIS) national database.

Researchers analyzed UUDIS drug shortage reports from 2001 through 2024, excluding shortages related to drug discontinuation, business decisions, or those lasting ≤1.

Of 3,086 eligible shortage reports, 379 involved ophthalmic medications. Among these, 329 shortages had been resolved, while 50 remained active as of June 2024. On average, ophthalmic drugs represented 15% of active shortages at any given time.

A panel of 4 ophthalmologists and 1 clinical pharmacist reviewed the reports. Systemic and locally delivered ophthalmic medications were equally represented. Anti-infective agents accounted for 35% of shortages, and steroids for 26%.

The most reported cause of ophthalmic drug shortages was unknown (63%), followed by manufacturing issues (20%) and supply and demand mismatch (10%). The median duration of ophthalmic medication shortages was 326 days compared with 298 days for all drugs, a difference of approximately 30 days (P = 0.023).

Ophthalmic medications that were patent-protected during a shortage had a mean shortage duration of 184 days, compared with 359 days for medications that were off-patent at the time of shortage (P < 0.0001).

Reference
Eakins RT, Lowrie LN, Stagg BC, et al. Ophthalmic Drug Shortages in the United States: Survey of the University of Utah Drug Information Service Drug Shortage Database. Ophthalmology. 2026;S0161-6420(26)00125-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2026.02.025. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41763579.

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