Export and hoarding of restricted medicines
Information for wholesale dealer licence holders about the medicines put on the UK market for UK patients that they cannot export or hoard.
Hoarding of medicines is when wholesale dealers withhold a medicine when it’s in short supply.
Exporting and hoarding of medicines can create or worsen medicine shortages.
The government has restricted the export and hoarding of some medicines already placed on the UK market and where there is evidence of a critical shortage, or a risk of a critical shortage, which could adversely impact UK patients.
Restrictions are used to support wholesalers to meet their legal obligation to supply the UK market, but only where less trade restrictive measures are not sufficient on their own.
The restricted medicines list is reviewed and updated regularly. It is your responsibility to check it before exporting medicines.
As of 1 January 2021, you may no longer be able to export branded medicines that have been placed on the UK market to countries in the EEA.
Check the guidance on the exhaustion of Intellectual Property rights and parallel trade.
Medicines you cannot export or hoard
See the list of medicines that you cannot export from the UK or hoard because they’re needed to meet the needs of UK patients.
This list is reviewed and updated regularly. It’s your responsibility to check this list before exporting medicines.
The restrictions apply to exports to all countries in or outside the EEA.
Sign up to receive an email alert when the list is updated.
Exporting to countries in or outside the EEA
You cannot export medicines on the restricted medicines list that have been put on the market for UK patients to other countries in or outside the EEA.
As of 1 January 2021 you may no longer be able to export branded medicines that have been placed on the UK market to countries in the EEA.
Check the guidance on the exhaustion of Intellectual Property rights and parallel trade from 1 January 2021.
How we decide which medicines to restrict
DHSC regularly reviews the list of medicines subject to export restrictions to ensure that restrictions are applied in a targeted, transparent, proportionate and time-limited manner.
As part of that review process, the UK has committed to removing medicines from the list that no longer meet the criteria for inclusion, consistent with the UK’s World Trade Organisation obligations.
DHSC will prohibit the export of a medicine if it considers that the following conditions are met:
- the medicine is required to meet the needs of UK patients
- the medicine is currently in critical shortage or at risk of being in critical shortage
- the export of the medicine would contribute to a critical shortage, or risk of critical shortage, of that medicine in the UK
The UK government only applies controls on the export of medicines made specifically for the NHS or those already placed on the UK market, intended for UK patients, and where there is evidence of a critical shortage or a potential critical shortage, especially with COVID-19 still driving unpredictable supply of, and demand for, many critical products in ICU and other hospital settings.
Medicines are only restricted where the critical need cannot be met by alternative measures alone.
Updates to the list of medicines are communicated by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) secretariat and published on the WTO website.
How medicines are listed
Most medicines are listed by virtual therapeutic moiety (VTM) and the list indicates which strengths and pharmaceutical forms the restrictions apply to. If no VTM is available, the medicines are listed by actual medicinal product (AMP).
See which products are covered by a VTM in the Dictionary of Medicines and Medical Devices.
If a VTM has one active ingredient, then only medicines containing that active ingredient are covered by the restrictions and not any medicines that contain multiple active ingredients.
If a restricted product has salt forms, the restrictions apply to all salt forms unless specific salt forms are listed.
Exporting medicines for which you hold a marketing authorisation
You can continue to export medicines on the restricted medicines list if you, or a company in your group of companies, holds a marketing authorisation for those medicines. The restrictions do not apply.
Exporting UK licensed medicines that are unlicensed in the destination country
You cannot export medicines on the restricted medicines list that have been put on the market for UK patients, whether they are licensed or unlicensed in the destination country.
Exporting medicines that are licensed under article 126a in the destination country
You can continue to export medicines on the restricted medicines list that are licensed under article 126a of Directive 2001/83/EC in the destination country. The restrictions do not apply.
Exporting medicines meant for markets abroad
You can continue to export medicines on the restricted medicines list that are manufactured and intended for markets abroad. The restrictions do not apply.
This includes medicines in packaging and labelled for markets abroad but may also include medicines in UK packaging with UK labelling if they were manufactured and intended for other markets and the supply has been part of the forecast of the marketing authorisation holder.
Exporting medicines to ships, planes, the armed forces and British citizens abroad
You can continue to export medicines on the restricted medicines list to:
- ships
- planes
- the British, UN and NATO armed forces
- British citizens abroad
The restrictions do not apply.
Exporting to crown dependencies and overseas territories
You can continue to export medicines on the restricted medicines list to the crown dependencies and overseas territories. The restrictions do not apply.
Exporting medicines for use by international humanitarian organisations
You can continue to export medicines on the restricted medicines list for use by international humanitarian organisations. The restrictions do not apply.
Exporting medicines for clinical trials and other research purposes
You can continue to export medicines on the restricted medicines list for use in clinical trials and for other research purposes. The restrictions do not apply.
Exports that have already been agreed
If you receive a final agreed purchase order from an importer before the date of restriction then you can still carry out that order. Open, rolling or frame orders placed by importers before the date of restriction can only be fulfilled if the products have been picked and packed, and transport booked.
The restriction for each medicine applies from 00:00am at the start of the date of restriction.
The restricted medicines list includes the date of restriction.
Withholding medicines as part of stock management or stockpiling arrangements
You can continue to withhold medicines as part of stock management arrangements agreed with marketing authorisation holders. It is not considered hoarding.
You can also continue to maintain contingency stockpiles built up at the request of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) or the former Public Health England (PHE), now known as the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Breaching the restrictions
If you export, start hoarding or continue hoarding a medicine on the restricted list it will be considered a breach of regulation 43(2) the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.
It may lead to regulatory action by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) against the wholesale dealer’s licence.
This could include:
- an immediate suspension of the licence or suspension of the supply of certain products under the licence
- a 28-day notice proposing to vary the licence to restrict or prevent export activity
If you continue to breach the restrictions it will be considered a criminal offence under regulation 34(1), read together with regulation 18(1) of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.
Further advice and information
Email [email protected] if you have any questions about the restrictions.
Updates to this page
Published 7 October 2019Last updated 28 June 2023 + show all updates
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Added sentence under 'How medicines are listed' to say that if a restricted product has salt forms, the restrictions apply to all salt forms, unless specific salt forms are listed.
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Minor changes to the page including moving sections 'How we decide which medicines to restrict' and 'How medicines are listed' further up the page and adding a reference to the World Trade Organisation secretariat.
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Changed the conditions that must be met for DHSC to prohibit the export of a medicine, under the heading: 'How we decide which medicines to restrict'.
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Guidance updated to replace reference to Public Health England with the UK Health Security Agency. Updated restricted export email address.
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Updates to exporting and hoarding rules after the transition period.
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Updated guidance to state that you can continue to export medicines on the restricted medicines list in the following circumstances: if the medicine is licensed under article 126a of Directive 2001/83/EC in the destination country; if you, or a company in your group of companies, holds a marketing authorisation for those medicines; if you are exporting medicines for clinical trials or other research purposes.
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Updated page to clarify the rules around exporting and hoarding of medicines put on the UK market for UK patients.
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Added further clarification: you can continue to supply medicines to ships, planes, the armed forces and British citizens abroad.
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Added information: you can continue to export medicines to ships, the armed forces and British citizens abroad.
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Added section about parallel exporting to UK ships. You can continue to export medicines to UK ships – the restrictions do not apply.
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The following information has been added: you cannot export medicines on the restricted medicines list that have been put on the market for UK patients, whether they are licensed or unlicensed in the destination country.
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A correction has been made to the paragraph 'Parallel exports that have already been agreed'. The restriction for each medicine applies from 00:00am at the start of the date of restriction. This is the day after a medicine has been added to the restricted medicines list and not the same day ('publication date'), as previously stated.
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First published.