Lansoprazole orodispersible tablets: MSN/2026/044 and two new SSPs
9 September 2026
On 9 September 2026 Community Pharmacy England published Medicine Supply Notification MSN/2026/044, dated 7 September, for lansoprazole 15mg and 30mg orodispersible tablets. It is a Tier 2, medium impact notification. Serious Shortage Protocols for both strengths were issued on 9 September. SSP088 covers the 15mg tablets and SSP089 the 30mg tablets.
What the notification says
The notification states that both strengths are in limited supply until early January 2027. It gives no more specific resupply date and refers readers to the Medicines Supply Tool for changes, which needs an NHS email address.
It advises that lansoprazole 15mg and 30mg gastro-resistant capsules remain available and can support increased demand. It also says other proton pump inhibitors remain available. It tells pharmacists to apply the SSPs to limit supply to one month, and asks teams to report shortages not listed on the SPS website through the shortage reporting tool.
What an SSP lets a pharmacist do
NHSBSA explains that DHSC may issue a Serious Shortage Protocol when it decides there is a serious shortage of a specific medicine. Where one is active, the pharmacist uses professional skill and judgement to decide whether it is reasonable and appropriate to supply under the SSP instead of the item as prescribed. The patient must agree to the alternative supply for that dispensing month.
These two protocols are limits on quantity. SSP088 and SSP089 apply where the tablets are available but the prescription is for more than one month's supply, on NHS and private prescriptions across the UK. The quantity supplied is one month's supply of the prescribed medicine. The protocols do not apply to prescriptions for one month or less, and they exclude patients or carers who do not consent. Both run from 9 September 2026 to 15 January 2027, and NHSBSA advises contractors to check its table for the latest validity dates because they can change.
The wider position
A one-month supply cap also sits beside the ramipril 1.25mg capsule notification, reported in our ramipril note.
The notification is on the Community Pharmacy England page for MSN/2026/044, and the protocols are on the NHSBSA serious shortage protocols page.