Where Pharmacies Meet Patient Needs: Catalonia Moves Toward Compounded Estradiol Amid Ongoing Supply Problems

In Catalonia, authorities are preparing an alternative. The regional health department plans to authorize pharmacies to prepare compounded estradiol formulations if the shortage of hormone treatments for menopause continues for another month.

The measure is linked particularly to shortages of Lenzetto, a transdermal estradiol spray that has been difficult to obtain for months. The supply problem has also placed pressure on other hormone-treatment products as patients and clinicians search for alternatives.

Under the proposed approach, pharmacies would prepare magistral formulations containing estradiol. These preparations are made specifically according to a prescription rather than being supplied as a standardized commercial product manufactured and packaged on a large industrial scale.

The decision follows months of reported shortages across Catalonia. Pharmacists and patients have described difficulties locating hormone treatments, while manufacturers have indicated that demand has risen beyond available production capacity.

The shortage has affected menopause hormone therapy in several forms, including sprays, patches and gels. Reports from Catalan pharmacies have described patients contacting multiple establishments in an effort to find medication that had previously been routinely available.

Lenzetto contains estradiol and is administered through the skin. Transdermal hormone treatment is used in menopause care, and the continuing shortage has prompted health professionals and authorities to consider how patients can maintain appropriate treatment when the usual product cannot be obtained.

The planned pharmacy-made formulations are not presented as an immediate replacement for the commercial products. Catalan authorities are preparing the option in case supply problems remain unresolved, while expecting the shortage of Lenzetto to improve in the coming period.

The wider Spanish situation has also drawn attention from national health authorities. The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices has been examining the shortage and discussing measures concerning how available hormone treatments should be distributed and what alternatives can be used.

There are practical questions around compounded medicines as well. Their preparation requires appropriate pharmaceutical procedures, and differences in formulation and absorption can matter when a patient moves from one type of treatment to another. For that reason, medication changes remain a matter for healthcare professionals rather than an informal substitution.

For patients, the issue is ultimately very concrete. A treatment that normally belongs to a predictable medical routine can suddenly become something that requires repeated searches, alternative prescriptions or a conversation about another formulation.

Catalonia’s proposed measure therefore represents a temporary bridge between a persistent supply problem and the need for continuity of care. If commercial supplies recover, the pharmacy-compounding option may have a limited role; if shortages continue, it could provide another route for patients who need estradiol-based treatment under professional supervision.