Who is this relevant for?

  • Pharmaceutical buyers sourcing shortage medicines
  • Hospitals managing supply risk
  • Distributors monitoring sourcing opportunities

DHSC and NHS England have issued a Tier 3 high-impact supply alert covering cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin. For pharmacy procurement teams, the instruction is direct: urgently place orders for unlicensed imports of cisplatin and carboplatin.

The pressure point is cisplatin. All strengths are in very limited supply and will not meet full UK demand until at least early October 2023, with no confirmed resupply date. Carboplatin is also in limited supply across all strengths, with 600mg/60mL solution for infusion vials expected to be hit hardest.

Oxaliplatin remains available, but the notice says extra stock will not be released to absorb any shift in demand. That matters for treatment planning and for procurement teams looking for substitution headroom. The same constraint applies to independent aseptic compounders. Supply remains available, but capacity will not increase and new customers will not be accepted.

What the notice changes for procurement

The supply notice includes a list of specialist importers that have indicated they can supply unlicensed cisplatin and carboplatin. That shifts the immediate task from routine ordering to importer engagement, allocation management and internal readiness to handle unlicensed stock.

For trusts, the operational issue is not just finding supply. It is making sure imported product can move into aseptic units without delay once it arrives. NHS guidance tells procurement teams to work with aseptic and quality assurance leads so units are ready to use unlicensed imports on receipt.

Aseptic and QA controls move to the front

The alert also points to a specific safety risk: product confusion and dosing errors if multiple unlicensed products are used in the same organisation at the same time. Trusts have been told to put mitigations in place with pharmacy aseptic leads.

That puts packaging differences, product presentation and workflow controls at the centre of the response. In a shortage, these details stop being administrative issues and become part of continuity planning.

Why oncology services are treating this seriously

Emma Foreman, vice chair of the British Oncology Pharmacy Association, said the shortage had not yet had much impact at the time of the notice, but she flagged the need for contingency planning. Her concern is straightforward: cisplatin and carboplatin sit at the core of many chemotherapy regimens, including some potentially curative treatments.

That raises the likelihood of tighter prioritisation if constraints continue. Foreman said oncology pharmacy services may need to reserve stock for treatments with the greatest impact.

Damian Child, director of pharmacy at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust, described the position as one where stock is available but capacity cannot be increased. That is a hard operating limit for buyers, importers and hospital teams alike.

The immediate takeaway

This is a shortage response that depends on speed and control at the same time. Procurement teams need access to unlicensed imports. Aseptic and QA teams need to be ready before stock lands. And hospitals need safeguards in place if more than one imported product enters use during the same period.