Testosterone shortages and availability in Canada
Injectable testosterone has gone short in Canada repeatedly since 2019, sometimes for a few weeks and once for more than two years, and two long-standing brands have left the market. On 30 September 2026 Canada had one marketed testosterone cypionate injection and one marketed testosterone enanthate injection, each from a single company, which is why a manufacturing problem at either shows up quickly at the pharmacy counter. If your product is short, the first calls are to your pharmacist and your prescriber, not to a different dose of a different product.
This page keeps three questions apart, because they have different answers and different sources. Is the product marketed in Canada? That is a Health Canada database status. Has the company reported a shortage? That is a report on Health Product Shortages Canada, with dates. Does a particular pharmacy or provider have it in stock today? Only that pharmacy or provider can say, and this page records what each publishes, on the same terms for everyone. A national shortage resolving does not mean your pharmacy has stock, and your pharmacy being out does not mean there is a national shortage.
Why testosterone goes short in Canada
- Single suppliers. Depo-Testosterone (Pfizer) and Delatestryl (Bausch Health), the two brands that supplied Canadian injectable testosterone for decades, are both recorded as cancelled post market in the Drug Product Database, on 18 July 2025 and 18 December 2025. The Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism records the Delatestryl discontinuation as taking effect on 28 March 2024. What remains is one marketed cypionate injection (Taro) and one marketed enanthate injection (Hikma). Regulator or government source.Health Canada Drug Product Database, status read per DIN, database, updated continuously, checked 30 September 2026Third-party page.Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, testosterone injectable shortage page, updated 24 June 2025, checked 18 September 2026
- Manufacturing disruption. The most recent Taro cypionate report gives the reason as "disruption of the manufacture of the drug"; it ran from 1 November 2024 to 25 November 2025. Pfizer told Xtra Magazine in March 2023 that it had "limited supply due to ongoing manufacturing constraints", and the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism records pandemic-related material supply problems in 2020 and Pfizer prioritizing vaccine production in 2021. Regulator or government source.Health Product Shortages Canada, report 242561, Taro-Testosterone Cypionate Injection, updated 1 December 2025, checked 30 September 2026Third-party page.Xtra Magazine, "Canada's testosterone shortages are ongoing", updated 24 March 2023, checked 18 September 2026Third-party page.Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, testosterone injectable shortage page, updated 24 June 2025, checked 18 September 2026
- Rolling shortages. When one product is short, prescriptions move to the other, and the other's stock runs down faster than planned. The president of the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism described this pattern to Xtra Magazine in 2023. Third-party page.Xtra Magazine, "Canada's testosterone shortages are ongoing", updated 24 March 2023, checked 18 September 2026
- No long-acting injection yet. Nebido (testosterone undecanoate injection), dosed every ten to fourteen weeks elsewhere, is not authorized in Canada. Apotex announced exclusive Canadian rights on 5 February 2026 and said its Searchlight Pharma division would pursue marketing authorization. Whether or when it will be authorized is not known, and approval would not by itself change the supply of cypionate or enanthate. Third-party page.Apotex news release, exclusive Canadian rights to Nebido, updated 5 February 2026, checked 18 September 2026
What is marketed in Canada
Read from the Health Canada Drug Product Database on 30 September 2026, one drug identification number at a time. "Marketed" means the company has told Health Canada the product is on the Canadian market. It does not say which pharmacies stock it. Every cypionate product ever listed, with vial prices and drug plan status, is on the testosterone cypionate page.
| Product | Company | Form | DIN | Status | Status date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taro-Testosterone Cypionate Injection | Taro Pharmaceuticals Inc. | Testosterone cypionate, Injection, 100 mg/mL, 10 mL vial | 02496003 | marketed On the check date, the only testosterone cypionate injection with Marketed status in Canada. | 2020-10-20 |
| Testosterone Enanthate Injection, USP | Hikma Canada Limited | Testosterone enanthate, Injection, 200 mg/mL | 02536315 | marketed On the check date, the only testosterone enanthate injection with Marketed status in Canada. Two older enanthate generics, Taro (DIN 00716936) and Pharmascience (DIN 00739944), are cancelled. | 2024-01-30 |
| AndroGel | BGP Pharma ULC | Testosterone, Topical gel, three presentations | 02245345 | marketed | 2016-04-07 |
| Taro-Testosterone Gel | Taro Pharmaceuticals Inc. | Testosterone, Topical gel, two presentations | 02463792 | marketed A third-party tracker listed a shortage report for the 2.5 g presentation as active in September 2026. The report itself could not be read on the check date, so it is recorded here as not confirmed rather than as a shortage. | 2017-10-31 |
| Testim 1% | Knight Therapeutics Inc. | Testosterone, Topical gel | 02280248 | marketed | 2026-01-16 |
| Natesto | Acerus Biopharma Inc. | Testosterone, Nasal gel | 02450550 | marketed | 2022-09-15 |
| Depo-Testosterone | Pfizer Canada ULC | Testosterone cypionate, Injection, 100 mg/mL | 00030783 | cancelled post market Marketed in Canada since 1953. The cancellation follows the shortage and discontinuation reports below. | 2025-07-18 |
| Testosterone Cypionate Injection USP | SteriMax Inc. | Testosterone cypionate, Injection, 100 mg/mL | 02570122 | approved Approved but not marketed on the check date. A prescription cannot be filled from Canadian stock until the company markets it. | 2026-07-20 |
| Delatestryl | Bausch Health, Canada Inc. | Testosterone enanthate, Injection, 200 mg/mL | 00029246 | cancelled post market Marketed in Canada since 1955. The Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism records the discontinuation as taking effect 28 March 2024. | 2025-12-18 |
| Taro-Testosterone Gel Pump | Taro Pharmaceuticals Inc. | Testosterone, Topical gel, metered pump, 12.5 mg per actuation | 02571714 | approved A new drug identification number, approved 18 September 2026 and not marketed on the check date. | 2026-09-18 |
Regulator or government source.Health Canada Drug Product Database, status read per DIN, database, updated continuously, checked 30 September 2026
Shortage and discontinuation reports on record
Companies must report shortages and discontinuations to Health Product Shortages Canada, formerly Drug Shortages Canada. The reports below are the testosterone cypionate reports as listed on that site on 30 September 2026. Reports for enanthate and for the gels could not be read that day because the site refused automated requests, so they are recorded as not confirmed rather than guessed; a third-party tracker listed a Taro-Testosterone Gel 2.5 g shortage as active in September 2026, which this site has not verified against the register.
| Product | Report | Reported | Ended or last updated | Reason, where given |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depo-Testosterone, 100 mg/mL | shortage, resolved | 2019-06-10 | 2019-10-02 | none given in the listing |
| Depo-Testosterone, 100 mg/mL | shortage, resolved | 2020-09-18 | 2020-10-15 | none given in the listing |
| Depo-Testosterone, 100 mg/mL | shortage, resolved | 2021-01-05 | 2021-02-06 | none given in the listing |
| Depo-Testosterone, 100 mg/mL | shortage, resolved | 2021-02-17 | 2023-05-03 | Pfizer told Xtra Magazine in March 2023 that it had limited supply due to ongoing manufacturing constraints; the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism records pandemic-related material supply disruption in 2020 and Pfizer prioritizing vaccine production in 2021. |
| Depo-Testosterone, 100 mg/mL | shortage, resolved | 2023-07-20 | 2023-08-26 | none given in the listing |
| Depo-Testosterone, 100 mg/mL | shortage, resolved | 2025-01-08 | 2025-10-24 | none given in the listing |
| Depo-Testosterone, 100 mg/mL | discontinuation, discontinued | 2025-10-23 | 2025-10-24 | Company discontinuation report. The Drug Product Database records the DIN as cancelled post market on 18 July 2025. |
| Taro-Testosterone Cypionate Injection, 100 mg/mL | shortage, resolved | 2022-11-04 | 2023-02-28 | none given in the listing |
| Taro-Testosterone Cypionate Injection, 100 mg/mL, 10 mL vial | shortage, resolved Report 242561, tier 3 status no. | 2024-11-11Actual start 2024-11-01 | 2025-11-25 | Disruption of the manufacture of the drug, as stated in the company report. Tier 3 status: no. |
Regulator or government source.Health Product Shortages Canada, reports for testosterone cypionate, register, updated as companies report, checked 30 September 2026 Regulator or government source.Health Product Shortages Canada, report 242561, Taro-Testosterone Cypionate Injection, updated 1 December 2025, checked 30 September 2026
If your product is reported short
What follows is the practical order of operations set out by Trans Care BC and the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, put in plain language. None of it is a dose, a substitution or a decision about your care; those are your prescriber's and your pharmacist's.
- Ask your usual pharmacy what it has and when it expects more. A pharmacy can often see the wholesaler's expected date. Ask whether a different vial size or a different presentation of the same product is in stock.
- Call other pharmacies, including small independents. Stock is uneven during a shortage. A prescription can usually be transferred between pharmacies in the same province; ask your pharmacist how.
- Do not adjust the dose yourself, and do not treat two products as the same. Cypionate in Canada is 100 mg/mL and enanthate is 200 mg/mL, so the same volume is not the same dose. The Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism states that Taro-Testosterone is not interchangeable with Depo-Testosterone and that a switch needs a new prescription. Ask your prescriber before any change. Regulator or government source.Trans Care BC (Provincial Health Services Authority), hormone shortages, no date shown on the page, checked 18 September 2026Third-party page.Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, testosterone injectable shortage page, updated 24 June 2025, checked 18 September 2026
- Ask your prescriber about the alternatives and their coverage. A gel, a nasal product or an oral capsule may be prescribed when injectables are short. They cost more and public coverage differs by province: in British Columbia, for example, coverage of alternatives may need a Special Authority request from the prescriber, and the plan status for each province is on the access page and the British Columbia guide. Regulator or government source.Trans Care BC (Provincial Health Services Authority), hormone shortages, no date shown on the page, checked 18 September 2026
- Ask what your provider does during a shortage. Whoever prescribes for you, ask who tracks the shortage, whether your prescription can be sent to a pharmacy that has stock, and whether a change of product means a change of monitoring. What each provider publishes about availability is in the table below.
- Check the register yourself. Search the product on Health Product Shortages Canada. A resolved report means the company says supply has recovered, not that every pharmacy has restocked.
What each provider publishes about availability
The same field for every provider, alphabetically, checked 23 September 2026. A provider that publishes a dated availability page or feed is recorded here with that page as the source, presented as that provider's own report of its own stock, not as nationwide availability, and not as live unless the provider states how often it is refreshed. Where nothing is published, the field reads not confirmed, which is not the same as unavailable.
| Provider | Availability statement as published | Refresh stated | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enhanced Men's Clinic | not confirmedNo availability or shortage statement found on the pages checked. | not confirmed | nothing published |
| Essential Clinic | not confirmedNo availability or shortage statement found on the pages checked. | not confirmed | nothing published |
| Gambit | not confirmedNo availability or shortage statement found on the pages checked. | not confirmed | nothing published |
| Gameday Men's Health | not confirmedNo availability or shortage statement found on the pages checked. | not confirmed | nothing published |
| Jack Health | not confirmedNo availability or shortage statement found on the pages checked. | not confirmed | nothing published |
| MHC | not confirmedNo availability or shortage statement found on the pages checked. | not confirmed | nothing published |
| Phoenix | not confirmedNo availability or shortage statement found on the pages checked. | not confirmed | nothing published |
| Science & Humans | not confirmedNo availability or shortage statement found on the pages checked. | not confirmed | nothing published |
| Sovereign Male | not confirmedNo availability or shortage statement found on the pages checked. | not confirmed | nothing published |
| UPGUYS | not confirmedNo availability or shortage statement found on the pages checked. | not confirmed | nothing published |
Any provider may publish a dated availability statement, and it enters this table on the same terms as every other. A provider's own report of its own stock is recorded as such and is never presented as a recommendation.
Next: what follow-up on treatment involves, the products available in Canada, or the providers table.
Sources
- Health Product Shortages Canada, reports for testosterone cypionate, Health Canada. Register, updated as companies report. Checked 30 September 2026.
- Health Product Shortages Canada, report 242561, Taro-Testosterone Cypionate Injection, Health Canada. Source date 1 December 2025. Checked 30 September 2026.
- Health Canada Drug Product Database, status read per DIN, Health Canada. Database, updated continuously. Checked 30 September 2026.
- Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, testosterone injectable shortage page, Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism. Source date 24 June 2025. Checked 18 September 2026.
- Trans Care BC (Provincial Health Services Authority), hormone shortages, Provincial Health Services Authority, British Columbia. No date shown on the page. Checked 18 September 2026.
- Xtra Magazine, "Canada's testosterone shortages are ongoing", Xtra Magazine. Source date 24 March 2023. Checked 18 September 2026.
- Apotex news release, exclusive Canadian rights to Nebido, Apotex Inc.. Source date 5 February 2026. Checked 18 September 2026.
- tshortages.ca, a third-party tracker that states it uses Health Canada shortage data; publisher not identified on the site, Publisher not identified on the site. Source date 2 May 2026. Checked 18 September 2026.