Reporting Office for Essential Human Pharmaceuticals
Since 2015, the NES Reporting Office for Essential Human Pharmaceuticals has been tasked with swiftly identifying supply shortages or disruptions of essential medicines. It takes appropriate action when the industry can no longer manage the situation. Suppliers of reportable medicines must notify the Reporting Office of any supply chain disruptions, allowing it to spot potential shortages early. For medicines subject to stockpiling obligations, disruptions can be temporarily avoided by releasing supplies from compulsory stocks. Compulsory stocks can cover two to four months of market demand, depending on the medicine.
List of current supply disruptions
The following document provides an overview of current supply shortages of therapeutic products. Various proposals for action and measures taken by the federal authorities are also outlined.
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Modernisation of the reporting platform
The original FONES reporting platform served as the backbone of the reporting office’s operations until 1 July 2025, when we launched a new, more powerful and future-oriented platform for therapeutic products. The upgraded platform will continue to evolve and, in the future, will enable proactive monitoring through an early warning system.
New platform of therapeutic products
Future-proof IT solution for an early warning system in the supply of essential medicines.
Obligation to notify
Marketing authorisation holders distributing reportable active substances in Switzerland must notify the Reporting Office of any supply shortages or interruptions. The list of reportable active substances forms part of the Reporting Office Ordinance and is revised regularly. It was expanded by 60% to 320 active substances in January 2024.
Collaboration with Swissmedic during shortages
When supply bottlenecks mean that a crucial Swiss-authorised medicinal product is unavailable, marketing authorisation holders can apply to Swissmedic to temporarily distribute an identical substitute product packaged for another country. This means marketing authorisation holders also play a key role in maintaining supply security. The legal basis for these applications is given in the Therapeutic Products Act (TPA; Art. 9b para. 2, Art. 58, Art. 66 paras 1 and 2 and Art. 67 paras 1 and 2).
The Therapeutic Products Division supports Swissmedic in evaluating these out-of-stock applications. For more details, refer to the "Process description" factsheet and the Swissmedic website.