Germany's Drug Shortages Persist in 2025, Leaving Patients Without Critical Medicines
German pharmacies continue to grapple with drug shortages in 2025, with persistent supply bottlenecks affecting essential medicines. Reports indicate 1,514 cases impacting 1,041 distinct products, with some shortages lasting months. The situation remains dire, particularly for mental health and infection treatments.
Psychotropic drugs and antibiotics are among the most affected. Antipsychotics face 173 shortage reports, covering 151 different product codes, with gaps lasting an average of 230 days. Antidepressants follow closely, with 130 shortages affecting 126 codes and lasting around 107 days.
Antibiotics also remain scarce, with 85 reports across 78 product codes, averaging 122 days of unavailability. Lipid-lowering agents, used for heart health, have 89 shortages spanning 80 codes, often missing for 156 days. Even common treatments like salbutamol for asthma and antiepileptic drugs are in short supply, leaving patients with few alternatives.
The 2023 Shortages Act was intended to alleviate the crisis, but health insurers report no significant improvements in supply chains. Now, experts are proposing an early-warning system to flag major production failures in Asia before they disrupt German stocks. Such a system could help prevent shortages from reaching patients in the first place.
The ongoing shortages mean patients and pharmacists must navigate prolonged gaps in vital medications. Without structural fixes or better alerts, the problem is likely to continue. For now, mental health drugs, antibiotics, and chronic disease treatments remain the most vulnerable.
