What steps he is taking to (a) address shortages in tuberculosis (TB) medications, including drugs for preventive and active TB treatment and (b) ensure that patients are not put at risk due to disrupted access to treatment.
There is currently a shortage of some medicines used to treat tuberculosis (TB), non-tuberculous mycobacteria, and other conditions. However, as a result of measures taken, the supply position has significantly improved. Supplies to the market were delayed following regulatory requirements that increased the complexity of the manufacturing process to address serious quality concerns. This was compounded by delivery delays and increased pressure on the products that remain available.On 21 July 2025, the shortage was designated by the Medicines Shortage Response Group (MSRG) as Tier 4, the highest impact on patients and the system, given the risk to patient and public health. Following a Medicines Supply Notification (MSN) to the system in April, a National Patient Safety Alert was published on 29 July 2025. This provided guidance to clinical teams on prioritising patient care and managing stock. Updates to the issue, including the current status and resupply dates, are regularly maintained via the online Medicines Supply Tool managed by NHS England and the Department.The situation has improved following ongoing engagement with suppliers and enhanced support from importers. There is now sufficient stock for the treatment of latent TB to continue as normal, and MSRG agreed on 13 October that the issue should be deescalated to a Tier 3, and a new MSN was issued to the system on 23 October 2025.An Incident Management Team managed the shortage in its most acute phase, led by NHS England and with a broad wider stakeholder group, including the Department and the UK Health Security Agency, and a Supply Chain Management group has co-ordinated the allocation and distribution of the available stock across all four nations.Thanks to this cross-system collaboration and clinically-led strategy to manage current supplies, the sourcing of additional stock, and the effective prioritisation of the existing supply, the stock levels of many licensed products have improved.NHS England continues to engage with all relevant suppliers to understand usage and expected resupply dates as well as with specialist importers of unlicensed products to understand their ability to cover the initial and future deficit. Plans are underway to ensure that when further licensed stock becomes available, we can control allocation via wholesalers to enable fair distribution of stock.Medium to longer-term planning is underway to address ongoing and future challenges in TB medicine supply.