ADHD medication facing severe supply strain

Shortages of ADHD medications for patients in the US that started this summer, have now spread to include other major stimulants.

Adderall, a form of drug used to reduce the symptoms of ADHD, was reported to be in dangerously low supply in August 2022, but Teva Pharmaceuticals, a leading provider of the medication, said supply issues had been apparent since 2019.  

Teva reported the shortage problem would not be resolved until at least March this year and claim the shortage is as a result of an increase in ADHD diagnoses and a high demand for Adderall. Figures show diagnoses have more than doubled between 2007 and 2016 and Adderall prescriptions increased more than 10% between 2020 and 2021.

However, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has announced Teva has restocked it’s supply of Adderall, but other manufactures, including Alvogen, Rhodes Pharmaceuticals and SpecGX have reported their supply as low.

Additionally, Ritalin is the latest ADHD medication to be reported as being in short supply, leaving people who rely on these drugs to manage daily symptoms without any help.

Shortages of Adderall increased the demand for other ADHD medications like methylphenidate, Ritalin and Concerta. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists claims some drug short supply issues have arisen from active ingredient problems.

A Johnson & Johnson Spokesperson, whose company Janssen Pharmaceuticals inc. produces Concerta, said the drug is available but the company is aware ‘of some supply challenges in the market’.

American patients who have been diagnosed with ADHD have reported how the lack of supply has cost them their jobs due to not being able to focus well.

Faati, a US resident diagnosed with ADHD told The Guardian that when they ran out of medication for three months, they struggled to remember tasks or even tell the time in the cafeteria they worked in. On the day they finally got a refill, they were fired for ‘performance reasons’.

Similarly, Erik a 26-year-old Seattle Grocery Clerk, has been unable to gain a refill of medication and is worried he’ll lose the first full-time job he’s ever had.

Against the backdrop of a US shortage of ADHD medication, an illegal ‘slimming’ pill is set to be declared as poisonous by the UK government after it killed over 30 people.

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya