Tens of thousands of allergy sufferers are at risk because of a shortage of the life-saving EpiPen jabs.
Mylan, the Pennsylvania-based firm that manufacturers the device, has warned of global supply problems.
The company has announced it will ration EpiPens, which contain a 0.3mg dose of adrenaline, in Britain.
Pharmacists have today warned of ‘life or death situations’ amid fears stocks of the devices could run out.
Mylan, the Pennsylvania-based firm that manufacturers EpiPen, has warned of global supply problems. The company has announced it will ration them in Britain
The crucial devices are used by allergy patients during a deadly anaphylactic shock – which can kill in minutes.
Patients shoot it into their thigh, which temporarily stops the symptoms and allows them enough time to reach hospital.
Millions across the world rely on EpiPens, which they carry with them at all times in case they undergo an attack.
Mylan told The Daily Telegraph that the issue had been caused by manufacturing delays at Pfizer, which owns the subsidiary firm.
Pharmacists will be limited to dishing out just two EpiPens per prescription. Patients will temporarily not be able to get the gadgets without prescription.
Supply of the EpiPen for children, which contains a halved dose of epinephrine, or adrenaline, has not been affected.
EpiPens, which have been subject of huge controversy in the US due to a price hike, are the most popular adrenalin injections dished out to allergy patients in the UK.
ALKAbelló, the Danish company that manufactures rival device Jext, said it was ‘doing all we can to meet the increased demand’, The Telegraph reports.
However, a spokesperson warned that it would be ‘difficult for us to make up for the overall shortfall in supply of adrenalin infections in the UK’.
No known supply issues have been reported by Bausch + Lomb, the new Jersey-based firm that manufacturers Emerade – another adrenalin jab.
Thorrun Geovind, a pharmacist based in Bolton, revealed she struggled to track down an EpiPen for a patient who was going away the same day.
She told The Telegraph: ‘I called eight pharmacies before I could track one down. We shouldn’t have to do this, it’s a life-and-death situation.
‘People are potentially going to have to change devices. They operate a bit differently and that’s something they should discuss with their GP or pharmacist.’
A spokesperson for Mylan told the newspaper that it ‘cannot commit to a specific time when the supply constraint will be fully resolved’.
Anaphylaxis Campaign, a group for people with severe allergies, warned patients should get a repeat prescription ‘well in advance’.
A Pfizer spokesman said: ‘We understand how important this potentially life-saving product is to patients.’
They added ‘we are working tirelessly to increase production and expedite shipments as rapidly as possible’.
Australia has been struck twice by the global supply issues over EpiPens, which are the only approved adrenalin jab in the country.
Health officials in Australia were forced to keep extending warnings of a nationwide shortage as patients were left fearing for their lives.
Mylan has raised the price of EpiPens by more than 500 per cent since 2007 in the US – a decision that prompted huge backlash.
Martin Shkreli – the ‘Pharma Bro’ who hiked the price of HIV medication Daraprim by 5,000 per cent – defended the firm two years ago.
Officials at the US Food and Drug Administration have previously blasted the firm for deaths and illnesses reported after using faulty products.
The agency said in September these deaths would have been preventable had the firm tested its products or investigated malfunctioning reports more thoroughly.