Mefloquine shortage

Shortage of 250mg mefloquine (Lariam) antimalarial tablets in the United Kingdom (UK) until January 2026

This updates the news item of 18 September 2025

Neon Healthcare have advised NaTHNaC that 250mg mefloquine (Lariam) antimalarial tablets are currently out of stock in the UK and will not be available until January 2026.

Advice for health professionals

Clinics and pharmacies with remaining supplies of mefloquine should prioritise travellers with imminent travel for whom mefloquine is the first choice of antimalarial. This includes pregnant travellers visiting high risk malaria regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa.

Travellers who can take alternative antimalarials should be prescribed these, in order to preserve mefloquine supplies for those who cannot use other options.

Country specific advice about malaria risks and antimalarial recommendations available from the TravelHealthPro Country Information pages.

The UK Malaria Expert Advisory Group (UKMEAG) Malaria prevention guidelines for travellers from the UK provide detailed malaria advice and guidance for health professionals advising travellers and are the first port of call for queries.

Alternative suppliers

The following specialist importers have confirmed they can source unlicensed mefloquine 250 mg tablets (please note there may be other companies that can also source supplies):

Alium
Chemys
Genetech
Smartway
Target

Any decision to prescribe an unlicensed medicine must consider the relevant guidance and NHS Trust or local governance procedures. Unlicensed imports do not undergo any central quality assessment or suitability evaluation. Therefore, any import must be locally assessed in line with local unlicensed medicines processes. Please see the resources section below for further information.

If attempts to source mefloquine for an individual traveller are not successful, health professionals can contact NaTHNaC's telephone advice line for further advice.

The UK Health Security Agency Malaria Reference Laboratory offers an email advisory service for health professionals for complex queries which cannot be answered after consulting the Malaria prevention guidelines for travellers from the UK.