Drug shortages in the U.S. remain a persistent challenge for hospitals and pharmacies, even as new shortages fell to a 20-year low in 2025. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists identified 89 new shortages in 2025, but 216 active shortages remain, many beginning in 2022 or later, and continuing to strain operations.
U.S. Pharmacopeia has identified 100 vulnerable drugs in the U.S., including 50 acute and 50 chronic medications, according to an April 8 report. The list is intended to flag supply risks before shortages occur and spans multiple therapeutic classes, signaling broad exposure across care settings.
Here are five things to know:
- The list includes 100 drugs, with 70% not currently in shortage and 30% in shortage as of February 2026, according to FDA data.
- Injectable products account for 63% of the drugs, reflecting ongoing manufacturing complexity, while oral solid drugs represent 22%.
- The analysis found 48 of the 100 drugs rely on at least one key starting material manufactured in a single country, creating potential single points of failure.
- More than one-quarter of the drugs appear stable at the finished-dose level but share a single upstream dependency.
- The findings are based on an analysis of 2,511 finished dosage form drug products, incorporating demand, essentiality and upstream supply chain data.
Click here to see the full list of 100 drugs.
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