[Source: Yahoo News/HealthDay]
Due to an ongoing shortage, some American adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or the parents of children with ADHD, are having to call multiple pharmacies before finding one that carries the prescription they need to manage the condition.
Accounts of exactly which drugs are affected vary, but much of the focus has been on Adderall XR, made by Shire PLC, and its two generic versions, also made by Shire but distributed by drug companies Teva and Impax.
However, generic versions of the widely used ADHD drugs Ritalin and Concerta have also been affected, Valerie Jensen, associate director of the drug shortages program at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.
Although the shortage doesn’t seem severe and, according to industry representatives, should be over by the end of the month, not having the pills can cause significant disruptions to patients’ lives.
According to Matt Cabrey, a spokesman for Shire PLC, which makes Adderall XR, the “supply interruption” is due both to higher demand and to the fact that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) didn’t deliver enough of the active ingredient in Adderall XR, amphetamine, to the company. Amphetamine is a controlled substance and strictly regulated by the DEA.
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Read Time Magazine Article “Does the ADHD Drug Shortage Herald a Crackdown on Stimulants?