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Supplies of antimicrobial medicines used to treat tuberculosis have “greatly improved,” the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said three months after warning that shortages would last until the end of the year. 

The supply constraints warned of in a July 29 national patient safety alert still affect UK packs of rifampicin 150mg capsules, rifampicin 600mg intravenous vials and Rifinah 300 (rifampicin 300mg/isoniazid 150mf) tablets. These products will be “available intermittently,” said the DHSC in an October 23 update. 

However, the DHSC said unlicensed imports of rifampicin 150mg capsules, rifampicin 600mg vials and Rifinah 300 tablets have “been sourced in sufficient quantities to meet gap in supply of licensed packs,” adding that “lead times may vary”. 

Community Pharmacy England reminded contractors that where there is no listing on the NHS dm+d website for an imported product, an EPS prescription cannot be issued and prescribers should instead issued as a special order and endorsed by the pharmacy as a non-Part VIII special.

Other licensed TB treatments are now available, with monthly allocations of specific medicines to be made at Trust-level to “ensure fair distribution of licensed stock”. 

Given the recent supply constraints, prescribers have until now been advised to prioritise patients with active TB for treatment and, in the case of latent TB infection, to make case-by-case decisions according to the patient’s level of clinical urgency.  

In its latest alert, the DHSC confirmed that “normal services can now resume, including latent TB screening/treatment and, where needed, the prescribing of rifampicin capsules for non-TB indications in both primary and secondary care”.

“Utilisation of available licensed stock and unlicensed imports should be optimised to ensure continuity of patient treatment,” the department added.

Sanofi products such as rifampicin 150mg capsules, Rifinah 300 tablets, Rifater tablets and rifampicin 600mg vials will be managed directly by the manufacturer and distributed within secondary care by AAH and Phoenix.

Sanofi will work with NHS England’s medicines procurement and supply chain team to manage primary care supplies “by verifying valid prescriptions before releasing medicines to ensure fair distribution”. 

The distribution of Voractive tablets will be managed by Phoenix Healthcare in England and by AAH in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.