A supply disruption alert issued by the Department of Health and Social Care (DH) last week (June 25) said the product, which has been unavailable since August 2019, would be resupplied at the end of 2021 “at the earliest”.

However, there is “currently no confirmed resupply date”, the DH explained.

Kyowa Kirin, the sole supplier of phenelzine 15mg (Nardil) in the UK, has been experiencing manufacturing issues since August 2019, the DH said.

The tablets originally had a resupply date of October 2019, later postponed to March 2020 and now delayed further.

While clinicians could previously access unlicensed phenelzine 15mg tablets when they were unable to get hold of the licenced version of the product, these have now “become limited” following “supply issues in other markets globally”, the DH said.

Prescribers should work with pharmacists “to understand which formulations of phenelzine are available with associated lead times to ensure patients receive their medication in a timely manner”, the DH added.

Phenelzine sulphate 15mg tablets are used for “the treatment of depression clinically characterised as ‘atypical’, ‘non endogenous’, ‘neurotic’ or which has not responded to treatment with other antidepressants”.

The DH said that it is “clinically unsafe to stop or switch this drug abruptly” and that “any switching or withdrawal will need to be undertaken by a specialist”.