The medicines that left Romania

Withdrawn here, many still authorised#

Of the 55 medicines withdrawn with no other authorised product, only 8 were withdrawn or suspended across the European Union (linear gadolinium contrast agents and ranitidine, suspended for safety, or Strattera oral solution, which Lilly stopped making everywhere). 30 still hold a marketing authorisation: 15 a European one, valid in Romania too, and 15 a Romanian one. The authorisation allows them to be sold; the maker announced the stop.

In 49 of the 55 cases the reason on the notice is the same: “commercial reasons”. The notice says nothing more.

For patients the effect depends on what is left. When Reminyl oral solution or Ursofalk suspension go, capsules or tablets remain, which not every patient can swallow. When Glucobay or Valdoxan go, the substance has no price in any form, and the doctor has to choose another treatment.

A list that loses its past#

Manufacturers must tell Romania's National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices (ANMDMR) at least two months ahead when they stop supplying a medicine, temporarily or for good. The agency publishes these notices in a single document that it keeps updating. On 22 October 2026 it had 752 rows.

Old rows are removed along the way. Of 3,231 notices found in 29 copies of the list saved by the Internet Archive between 12 June 2019 and 22 October 2026, 2,479 (77%) are no longer on the current list. A removed row had stayed up for a median of at least 247 days. No other public source found keeps the history.

Because the list is rewritten, no archive is complete: rows published and removed between two saved copies are lost. There is no copy at all between February 2025 and April 2026, so 2025 is the least complete year. The numbers on this page are therefore minimums.

Shortages that come back#

Most notices are temporary: the maker announces a pause and a return date, a median of 115 days later. Some substances come up again and again. 157 substances had temporary notices at three or more different times, and 67 at five or more.

A temporary notice for one product does not mean patients could not get the medicine: often other makers had the same substance. The gaps where none was left are the ones in the chart at the top.

What these data do not show#

• A notice is the maker's announcement, not pharmacy stock. A medicine declared stopped may still be found for a while, until stock runs out; one never declared may be missing for other reasons.
• The price catalogue shows what has an approved price, not what is on the shelf. A new product appears only in the next edition, so gaps closed only by a new catalogue edition were left out.
• Over-the-counter medicines have free prices and are not in the catalogue; they were left out of the gap analysis. So were vaccines: another vaccine usually takes their place.
• Patients can sometimes get unauthorised medicines through ANMDMR's “special needs” route, imported on request. That route is not covered here.
• A gap means the substance was missing in that form. The doctor may have an alternative with another substance; the page does not judge whether a switch suits a given patient.

How the analysis was done#

• ANMDMR's “Notificări discontinuitate” list was downloaded in 29 versions: 28 Internet Archive copies (12 June 2019–3 July 2026) and the live version of 22 October 2026. Each PDF was read by column position; identical rows found in several copies were merged. Result: 3,231 notices, 2,598 products, 781 substances.
• The notice type is the agency's: temporary shortage, extension, permanent stop or authorisation given up. Announced return dates, given as a month, were taken as the 15th. Gaps start in the announced month. A permanent stop with no month takes effect two months after the notice (the legal minimum). If the same product gets a newer permanent stop, it replaces the older one; if it later gets a temporary notice, or a later catalogue edition marks a price change for it (MAJ or DIM), the product counts as back on the market.
• What was on sale: products with an approved price in the health ministry's catalogues: CANAMED 2018 and the Public Catalogue of December 2022, August 2023, March 2024, February 2025, September 2025 and August 2026 (plus CANAMED 2023 from June 2023). Each day uses the edition in force. “Priced now” means the edition of 4 August 2026.
• One medicine = the same substance with the same ATC code (the substance and its use) in the same form family: tablets and capsules; syrups, suspensions, solutions and granules to swallow; injections and infusions; other forms. Strength does not separate medicines: a missing dose is not a missing medicine. The same molecule with another use (for example ofatumumab for multiple sclerosis, a different ATC code from Arzerra) counts separately. A catalogue product is covered by a notice if they share name, strength, basic form and container (syringe, vial, cartridge, pen).
• A day is a “gap” when every priced product of the medicine has an open temporary notice or has been stopped for good. Notices without a return date open no gap. A stopped medicine that drops out of the catalogue stays missing until another product appears; gaps closed only by a product appearing in a new catalogue edition are not counted.
• The medicines missing now were looked up in the European Medicines Agency's medicines table (1 November 2026) and ANMDMR's register (29 October 2026): whether the stopped product is still authorised, and whether another product with the same substance and form, under another brand or strength, is authorised. The European table gives no dosage form, so alternatives authorised only at EU level were checked one by one, not for every case.
• Threshold set before counting: at least 10 medicines with several priced products and a gap of 30 days or more. Result: 32 with several products (other brands or strengths), plus 115 with a single product, reported separately.
• For most medicines in the table there is no public report at all: the agency's list is the only trace.
• A test with thresholds set in advance did not confirm that cheap medicines are the ones leaving: products stopped “for commercial reasons” are not cheaper than others with the same substance. The page therefore makes no claim about price.

Questions#

My medicine is in the table. What should I do?

Do not stop treatment. Ask your doctor or pharmacist: for many there is the same substance in another form, or a close substance. The search result shows which products with the same substance have an approved price.

Why do medicines leave Romania?

The notice gives only a general reason: 49 of the 55 withdrawals with no other authorised product say “commercial reasons”. The test on this page did not find that cheap products are the ones leaving; the data say nothing more about causes.

Does a shortage at my pharmacy show up here?

Only if the maker declared it. Local, distribution or ordering shortages do not reach the agency's list.

Why are the numbers “at least”?

The agency's list drops old rows and the archives have gaps (none between February 2025 and April 2026). Whatever was published and removed between two copies cannot be recovered.

What does the table contain?

Only facts from the agency's official documents: name, form, authorisation holder, dates and stated reason. Source: ANMDMR, via Internet Archive copies.

Sources#

All documents were opened on 1 November 2026.

• Romania's National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices (ANMDMR), Medicine discontinuation notices: the list on its website on 22 October 2026 and 28 copies saved by the Internet Archive (12 June 2019–3 July 2026).
• ANMDMR, register of medicines for human use, updated 29 October 2026.
• Romanian Ministry of Health, national medicine price catalogue (CANAMED, 2018, 2023) and the Public national catalogue of maximum prices (editions of 22 December 2022, 1 August 2023, 28 March 2024, 3 February 2025, 17 September 2025 and 4 August 2026), Internet Archive copies.
• European Medicines Agency, medicines for human use table (authorisation status), version of 1 November 2026.
• Lilly France, letter to healthcare professionals on stopping Strattera manufacture, 26 December 2024 (published by ANSM).
• European Medicines Agency, referrals on gadolinium-containing contrast agents (2017) and ranitidine (2020), ending in suspensions decided by the European Commission.
• Directive 2001/83/EC, Article 23a: the authorisation holder must give at least two months' notice of interrupting supply.