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# Drug Shortages at Decade High, Last Longer: USP
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/drug-shortages-at-decade-high-last-longer-usp/
- Published: 2024-06-05T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T14:32:30.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5157120

The U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) inaugural drug shortage report shows that shortages are at a decade high and are lasting longer than they did in 2020\. A USP [statement](https://www.usp.org/news/us-drug-shortages-reach-decade-high-and-last-longer?ref=fdaweb.com) (includes a link to the report) says that the average drug shortage lasts for over three years, compared to about two years in 2020, and affects a wide range of therapeutic classes. Some 53% of new drug shortages were generic sterile injectable medicines, the statement says.

The report highlights four factors that singly or in combination can leave a drug more vulnerable to shortage — low prices, manufacturing complexity, geographic concentration, and quality concerns.

USP says it is calling for market and policy solutions that address both short-term and long-term needs and include risk mitigation strategies, public and private investment and partnerships, payment reform to reward reliability, and manufacturing quality, coordination, and accountability.