Both licensed capsule strengths, 1mg and 0.25mg, were unavailable, the department said in the October 28 report. It issued guidance on alternatives, including unlicensed imports where available; the supplier hoped to reach patients by mid-December.
Northern Ireland’s Department of Health said both licensed Nabilone capsule strengths, 1mg and 0.25mg, were out of stock with wholesalers across the UK. The shortage began affecting 1mg capsules in July; the 0.25mg strength became unavailable more recently.
The department said it had issued clinicians guidance on alternative treatments, including unlicensed imports of Nabilone where available. It advised patients who cannot obtain their prescription, or have concerns about an alternative, to speak with their specialist healthcare teams. The department said it was working with the UK Department of Health and Social Care and health trusts to manage the disruption.
In an October 28 account, the BBC described the experience of Jill Kenning, who has multiple sclerosis, a disease affecting nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Kenning said she had used Nabilone to manage her pain for 17 years and that it helped her get out of bed. She said she had spent most of her time in bed since running out the previous Tuesday. After she could not fill her prescription, she was prescribed other medication, but said it had not worked and that she had spent several nights in hospital.
Nabilone is a synthetic cannabinoid, a medicine made to act like some compounds found in cannabis. Its 1mg UK product information lists its licensed use as treating nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy when conventional treatments have not worked adequately. Kenning said she used it for pain related to multiple sclerosis.
Brown & Burk UK Ltd, which supplies Nabilone to the UK, said it hoped to bring stocks into the country by the end of November and get them to users by mid-December. Those are the company’s targets, not confirmed availability dates. Managing director Preetham Hiremat said technical problems had forced the company to manufacture the drug’s active ingredient again.
The warnings cover cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and dementia. The FDA did not convene advisers or present detailed evidence for its October 30 decision, but says it can provide the evidence later.
The NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service says an unlicensed import is a medicine brought in without a UK marketing authorization, though it may be authorized in another country. It says a supply disruption can create a temporary need for such a medicine when no suitable licensed alternative is available. For patients still unable to obtain Nabilone, the department’s guidance leaves their specialist teams to discuss the available treatment options while the supplier works toward its proposed resupply.
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Its 2026 report attributes more than 70% of those estimated deaths to human-caused climate change and estimates $1.07 trillion in potential income losses from heat in 2025, adding to its call for a coordinated health response.
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Among participants who stayed on treatment, Lilly says its highest retatrutide dose reduced A1c by 2.2 percentage points versus 1.8 for Ozempic after 80 weeks, and weight by 20.9% versus 9.4%. The results describe that group, not everyone enrolled.
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