A shortage of medicines containing Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists has been affecting EU Member States since 2022 and is expected to continue throughout 2024. The shortage is due to an increased demand for these medicines in conjunction with other causes, such as manufacturing capacity constraints. The medicines are authorised for the treatment of diabetes or for weight management under certain conditions or both. 

The off-label use for cosmetic weight loss and the emergence of falsified products further complicates the situation, particularly given the competing indications of these medicines.

EMA and the European Network are committed to tackling these shortages, and several actions have been taken at national and EU level; while these actions are helping to manage the situation, it is clear that they are not enough and that further action is needed to successfully mitigate or end these shortages.

New EU legislation has given EMA additional responsibilities for managing shortages at EU level. As a result, EMA has established an Executive Steering Group on Shortages and Safety of Medicinal Products (MSSG) to play a central role in coordinating, preventing and mitigating medicine shortages in the EU. 

The MSSG acknowledges the complexity of this shortage situation and the fact that it involves many parties and stakeholders, each with varying interests and facing different challenges. Given the limited impact of current measures, the MSSG has organised this multi-stakeholder workshop to bring together all relevant parties to facilitate a common understanding and to jointly discuss and identify possible additional solutions.

Therefore, the objectives of this workshop are as follows:

• clarify the needs and challenges of the different stakeholder groups in the context of shortages of GLP-1 receptor agonists,
• share experiences of ongoing activities to mitigate and prevent shortages of GLP-1 receptor agonists,
• identify novel solutions to mitigate and prevent the shortages of these medicines,
• strengthen cooperation amongst all stakeholders and improve coordination of activities,
• discuss and agree on key messages for communication and how to best reach target audiences.