UK DHSC adds Co-codamol to medicines export-restriction list (January 2026)

Mechanism

DHSC maintains a standing list of medicines subject to a domestic-supply-protection export restriction under regulation 43(2) of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, revised on a rolling basis as shortage risk shifts across products (see the November 2025 Nelarabine revision, 2025-11-06-uk-dhsc-medicines-export-restriction-list-revision-nov2025, and the January 2026 Aspirin/Ifosfamide revision, 2026-01-16-uk-dhsc-medicines-export-restriction-list-aspirin-ifosfamide, for the same standing mechanism).

The 28 January 2026 revision added Co-codamol (30mg/500mg, all formulations) — a widely-used paracetamol/codeine combination analgesic. DHSC had already flagged the product with a medicine supply warning on 12 January 2026, projecting the shortage would persist from February through at least early June 2026 across the UK. Non-compliant wholesale dealers face immediate MHRA licence suspension, the same enforcement mechanism used across the whole list.

Co-codamol's addition follows the same pattern as the January 16 aspirin listing: a high-volume, low-cost generic staple analgesic entering the restriction list, consistent with continued broad-based UK pharmaceutical-supply-chain strain into 2026 rather than a single niche-product disruption.

Downstream implications

• A second high-volume generic analgesic (after aspirin on 16 January) entering the

restriction list within a two-week window reinforces the read that UK generic-medicine supply strain in early 2026 is systemic rather than product-specific.

• DHSC continues to rely on the regulation 43(2) export/hoarding-restriction mechanism as its

primary lever for managing medicine-shortage risk.

Open questions

• No DHSC-published rationale ties the co-codamol shortage to a specific upstream cause

(paracetamol or codeine active-ingredient supply, manufacturing capacity, or demand spike).