Paracetamol, antibiotics, stroke prevention medicines and even some cancer drugs, which represent 85 per cent of all NHS prescriptions, <\/a>may be in short supply<\/a> as early as June, according to Medicines UK.<\/p>\n The company told The Telegraph it was \u201cincreasingly concerned that some chemicals and solvents used to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients are now in very short supply\u201d. <\/p>\n Medicines that contain paracetamol and aspirin are thought to be the most at risk because they are manufactured using by-products from the petrochemical industry, which has been affected by Tehran\u2019s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. <\/p>\n The shortages may make it harder to fulfil patients\u2019 prescriptions or make it more expensive for health services to source the medicines, the regulator warned. <\/p>\n Medicines UK explained that it has only received about a quarter of its usual volumes of drugs due to the war. <\/p>\n Richard Sullivan, professor of cancer and global health at King\u2019s College London, warned there was a shortage of cancer drugs. He told The British Medical Journal that \u201cdisruption in supply chains for cancer drugs and consumables for robotic surgery, which uses up an awful lot of equipment every time you operate on somebody\u201d.<\/p>\n Dr Leyla Hannbeck, CEO of the Independent Pharmacies Association, explained that a significant proportion of pharmaceuticals rely on petroleum-derived inputs, which are used in many common medicines, from antibiotics to pain relief and chronic disease treatments. <\/p>\n \u201cDisruption to the flow of crude oil and petrochemicals does therefore put constraints on the availability and cost of these critical pharmaceutical ingredients,\u201d she told The Independent.<\/p>\n She added: \u201cWe are very worried about the impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on medicines supply in the UK. <\/p>\n \u201cNearly a month ago, we wrote to the secretary of health and social care, warning him about these challenges and asked him to add medicines supply to the national register risk.\u201d<\/p>\n In a letter to Wes Streeting, Dr Hannbeck voiced her concerns over the supply of essential medicines that \u201cmillions rely on daily\u201d, such as blood pressure medicines. <\/p>\n![\"Drug](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01KMMFHF6EJ98TQAJNCNZSGW02.jpg\")
Drug makers and pharmacists have warned there could be NHS prescription shortages within weeks (PA)<\/p>\n![\"Medicines](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-15T185247Z_1216729001_RC2B2KAX6KP6_RTRMADP_3_IRAN-CRISIS-SHIPPING-HORMUZ.jpg\")
Medicines that contain paracetamol and aspirin are thought to be the most at risk because they are manufactured using by-products from the petrochemical industry, which has been affected by the blockades in the Strait of Hormuz (pictured) (Reuters)<\/p>\n