Last spring, Canada started experiencing a shortage of children’s Tylenol, which soon morphed into a shortage of children’s ibuprofen.

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Why Canada ran short of children's Tylenol — and why it could happen again Back to video

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As children spiked dangerously high fevers, many parents had no option but to race to emergency rooms — where there was no Tylenol or fever reducers.

This week’s episode of Down to Business features Mina Tadrous, assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, who discusses how the incident put a new strain on Canada’s health care system.

Tadrous debunked the notion that Tylenol was in short supply because the boxes lacked french instructions. Nor is it a short-term hangover from the pandemic.

Rather, Tadrous cast it as a symptom of the fragile, opaque pharmaceutical supply chain that has created shortages of thousands of drugs. It’s just that none of those drugs are used as commonly as Tylenol, he said.

He expects shortages will continue to grow in the future until a more comprehensive plan is developed and implemented. As if on cue, children’s Tylenol arrived back on shelves in Canada last month, and now parts of the U.S. face shortages.

As always the interviews are edited for clarity and brevity.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and YouTube where you can also subscribe to get new episodes every Wednesday morning.

If you have any questions about the show, or if there are topics you want us to tackle, email us: downtobusiness@postmedia.com.

• Email: gfriedman@postmedia.com | Twitter: GabeFriedz