The Department of Health and Social Care has warned that limited supplies of GLP-1 receptor agonists which are used to manage type 2 diabetes will not return to normal until the middle of next year.

The warning was reported by Community Pharmacy England (CPE) who said there are “very limited, intermittent supplies of all glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists.”

Pharmacy’s negotiator reported that supply issues have been caused by an increase in demand “for licensed and off-label indications” and urged pharmacists and their teams to monitor its medicines shortages tool for updates on the supply situation.

Meanwhile, the NHS Business Services Authority has published the drug tariff Category M prices for July. CPE said the prices “reflect an increase in reimbursement levels of approximately £5 million per quarter on like for like entries.”

CPE said that was a result of “an adjustment of -£23.8 million in light of the results of the margin survey” as well as “the phasing down of the additional £100 million agreed across years four and five as part of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework.” CPE also said it was the effect of “uplifts for underlying market prices” between January and March this year.

“(We) agreed the adjustments based on our analysis of margin delivery and on current projections for 2023-24,” it said. “Our objectives are to ensure full delivery of agreed margin and smooth delivery as much as possible. As always, the impact on individual pharmacies will vary depending on dispensing mix.”