Complaints to the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) due to a lack of medicines in the country have increased by 43%.

In the first half of 2025, the number of complaints received by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) related to medication shortages in the agency's clinics and hospitals increased compared to the same period last year. Between January and June 26 of this year, 109 reports were recorded, compared to the 76 complaints filed in the first six months of 2024, representing a 43 percent increase.

According to data from information request 340018000205825, Mexico City topped the list of states with the highest number of complaints in both periods, although with a marked increase in 2025. During the first six months of last year, the number recorded by the IMSS in the nation's capital was nine, while this year this figure rose to 22, an increase of 144.44%. In fact, the 2025 figure already exceeded the 19 complaints filed in all of 2024 by 15.78%.

Sonora was behind Mexico City in 2025, with nine complaints filed between January and June, a 60.86% decrease compared to the 23 complaints registered in the state during the same period in 2024.

Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Colima, Chiapas, and Baja California Sur followed, with seven complaints each. Tamaulipas, Colima, and San Luis Potosí registered an increase compared to the number they had in 2024, with increases of 40%, 600%, and 16.66%, respectively.

The IMSS reported that it recorded no complaints from beneficiaries in Chiapas and Baja California Sur between January and June 2024.

In contrast, the states with the fewest complaints recorded during the first months of 2025 were: Chihuahua (1); Guerrero (1); Aguascalientes (2); Durango (2); State of Mexico (2); Quintana Roo (2) and Tabasco (2).

Of the 109 total cases recorded, March saw the most cases, with 28 (25% of the total); then February (20 complaints); January (19); April (19); May (19); and June (10).

The total number of complaints is 23 cases away from matching the 132 claims received by the IMSS in the first 12 months of 2024.

"It should be noted that a service complaint folio may be related to one or more medications," the IMSS stated.

What medications are missing?

According to Social Security data, the medication that received the most complaints about not being available in pharmacies between January and June 26 was Rituximab 500 mg injectable solution, with 11 complaints. Most of these complaints were filed in Chiapas (five complaints), followed by Campeche (three complaints) and Mexico City (two complaints).

This medication is used to treat various cancers: non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, and microscopic polyangiitis.

On the other hand, Calcium Carbonate/Vitamin D3 in the 1666.670 mg tablet form and C were behind with six complaints each.

The former is used to prevent and treat calcium and vitamin D deficiencies in the body, as well as to strengthen bones and prevent bone-related diseases, such as osteoporosis. However, it is also commonly administered to patients with conditions such as osteomalacia, a condition that weakens bones due to a lack of vitamin D, and in certain cases of rickets in adults.

The majority of complaints received regarding the shortage of this medication during the first half of this year were in Baja California Sur, Mexico City, Colima, the State of Mexico, Michoacán, and Sonora.

Meanwhile, Lacosamide 100 mg tablets are an antiepileptic drug primarily used for the treatment of seizures in patients with epilepsy who experience partial seizures, involuntary movements, abnormal sensations, or altered consciousness, with or without spread to other areas of the brain.

Complaints about the lack of this service were filed in 2025 in Aguascalientes, Colima, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Yucatán, and Zacatecas.

In the same request, the IMSS stated that the average monthly supply level of medicines, "parameterized by the prescription fill rate," between January 2024 and June 23, 2025, was 96.44 percent.