Europe's Initial Critical Medicines and Vaccine List Announced

The European Commission (EC), the Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA), and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) today published the first version of the Union List of critical medicines, which includes vaccines.

As of December 12, 2023, the List contains more than 200 active substances of medicines for human use, considered critical for healthcare systems, for which continuity of supply is a priority and shortages should be avoided.

The List reflects the outcome of the review of 600 active substances taken from six national lists of critical medicines and will be expanded in 2024 and updated yearly.

Inclusion in the List does not mean that the medicinewill likely experience a shortage soone. It implies that preventing shortages is particularly important as a shortage could cause significant harm to patients and pose essential challenges to health systems.

A medicine or vaccine is considered critical if used in serious diseases and cannot be easily replaced by other products in case of a shortage.