Women forced to travel abroad for HRT after suppliers hit by shortage

Health officials demand answers from drugmakers after warnings that patches could run out by October

HORMONE replacement therapy (HRT) medication is being rationed, with women being warned they could struggle to get hold of patches for nearly a year.

Health officials have summoned pharmaceutical bosses for urgent meetings next week after it emerged some women have been forced to fly abroad to secure the menopause treating drugs.

Supplies of Evorel HRT patches, which have a 40 per cent market share, have faltered in recent weeks, and the company warned yesterday that stocks may run out completely in October. Meanwhile, patches made by Theramex, such as FemSeven Sequi and Conti, have been out of stock for months and will not be available until 2020.

The shortage has forced Novartis, which makes Estradot patches, to ration its stock in the UK so they do not all sell out at once due to the increased demand. Janssen, which makes the Evorel range, said it had seen more demand in the UK already this year than the whole of 2018.

The problem is thought to have started last year when Theramex stopped production because of issues manufacturing the glue for its patches, that are made in China, pushing customers towards other brands.

Around one in 10 women going through the menopause are prescribed HRT, amounting to around 200,000 women in the UK. It is thought that around two thirds of HRT treatments have been hit by the shortages.

Janssen said it may not return to full supply until the middle of 2020. One NHS consultant gynaecologist said patients have been flying to Spain to by Everol over the counter. “Women are getting desperate, they are left with no other option than to look overseas,” Dr Anne Henderson told the Daily Mail.

The shortages have prompted fears that women are turning to buying potentially counterfeit HRT drugs online.

HRT relieves symptoms of the menopause by replacing the hormones that the body has stopped producing.

A spokesman for Janssen said: “The situation in Europe has evolved rapidly over recent months and continues to do so, impacting several manufacturers, including Janssen.”

Some of the supply problems are believed to have been exacerbated by new rules introduced in February by the European Medicines Agency designed to prevent medication being tampered with, that forced manufacturers to alter their production lines.

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said patients should discuss alternatives to their HRT products with their doctor.