Boots and other pharmacies report shortages of hay fever medicines
Boots and other UK high street pharmacy chains have reported a shortage of some hay fever medicines.
According to the Guardian, manufacturer Glaxo Smithkline has blamed temporary supply chain issues for the problem.
Products affected included the Piriton and Piriteze tablets which are out of stock in Boots and other high street pharmacies following a sector wide shortage of the active ingredient chlorphenamine maleate.
However, products are expected to be back on shelves within the next few weeks.
Boots told the Guardian that only four out of its 90 hay fever products are affected by the shortages.
A Boots spokesperson said: “At Boots we have a large range of hay fever medicines with good availability of stock overall in our stores and online. There are a very small number of lines that are currently out of stock due to a current industry wide shortage of the active ingredient. However we are expecting this to be resolved soon and new deliveries are expected in the coming weeks.”
GSK said: “Due to reduced availability of certain active ingredients across the industry, we can confirm GSK consumer healthcare is experiencing temporary supply shortages of Piriton and Piriteze tablets. We appreciate demand for these medicines will be high over the coming months and are working hard to improve availability as soon as possible.”
The company also said children’s product Piriteze allergy syrup remains unaffected by the issues.
