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Aug 15, 2023 · In July, the Food and Drug Administration posted more shortages in A.D.H.D medications, adding generic versions of Concerta and two types of Vyvanse capsules to the list.
Sep 4, 2023 · Eleven drugmakers are listed as making Adderall or its generic versions on the FDA’s shortages website, and while some say the medicine is available, others don’t foresee an end to the shortage...
- Overview
- Why is there a shortage of ADHD medications?
- ‘This ends when supply matches demand’
- Cutting off telehealth access
Almost a year into the nationwide shortage of ADHD medications, federal agencies and drugmakers are blaming each other for empty pharmacy shelves.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, which sets limits on the types of amphetamines that pharmaceutical companies can use to make the pills, says companies have more than enough raw ingredients to produce stimulant ADHD medications. Drugmakers contest the claim, saying they’ve run out of ingredients and need the DEA’s permission to acquire more.
Experts doubt the supply of the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder medication Adderall or other ADHD drugs will increase any time soon, with shortages potentially lasting through the end of the year.
“Let’s just say I’m very concerned,” said Dr. Max Witznitzer, a pediatric neurologist who treats children with ADHD at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital and Case Western Reserve University. “As the kids restart school, we’re going to see the demand for these prescriptions going up.”
Dr. Leila Javidi, a primary care doctor in Gahanna, Ohio, has been fielding several hundred calls and messages each month from patients who say finding a stocked pharmacy becomes a time-consuming, frustrating quest.
“Everyone’s angry,” said Javidi. “Panic is a daily occurrence with my patients. The whole thing’s a mess.”
As of Tuesday, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, a group that represents hospital and clinic pharmacists, reported supply problems affecting 141 different doses or formulations of stimulant ADHD medications. The shortage began with Adderall last fall, but has since had a domino effect, with long- and short-acting versions of methylphenidate (Ritalin and Concerta), as well as Focalin, Vyvanse, and numerous generic equivalents of these drugs now in short supply, too.
In late August, the Food and Drug Administration approved several generic versions of Vyvanse for the first time, though it’s too soon to say how that will affect the situation.
Millions of children and adults in the United States are prescribed ADHD medications, which work by increasing dopamine levels in the brain to improve focus. For some, the shortage has been an inconvenience. For many others, not having access to the medications has affected their work, relationships and physical and mental health.
Jessica Urgo, 38, recently drove two hours from her home in Denver to pick up Adderall from a remote pharmacy with only 10 pills left in stock. For Urgo, who says her disorder makes communication difficult, not having the medication has strained her relationship with her husband and frayed her friendships.
Jeremy Didier, 52, a licensed clinician in Kansas City, Kansas, said she recently waited on hold for eight hours to ask whether her local Walgreens had Concerta in stock. Didier and four of her five children take medication for ADHD. Ever since her teenage son was caught driving 20 miles above the speed limit without his medication, she has worried about the shortage’s safety risks.
“Lives could be at stake when people don’t have access to the medications they need to stay focused,” she said.
Ganio said the mismatch between what the DEA says and what companies say is likely because the agency’s quota tally is industrywide, not specific to companies.
“Big picture, this is what the FDA and DEA are seeing, but it doesn’t give you any insight into what individual manufacturers are seeing,” he said.
Individual companies may be out of quota, while others are keeping quiet about having more on hand. As of 2022, there were 107 U.S. businesses involved in manufacturing ADHD medications, according to the market research company IBISWorld.
Even if the overall quota is sufficient, Ganio said, the DEA needs to do a better job of allocating the quota to the right companies. The agency can’t accomplish this without transparency from companies on their individual supply and manufacturing capacities. Companies are rarely forthcoming about these internal details, he said.
For as long as the DEA and manufacturers continue their quota miscommunication and misalignment, Ganio said the supply likely can’t increase.
“Very simply put, this ends when supply matches demand,” Ganio said.
Changes to telehealth prescriptions could be one way to stabilize ADHD medication demand, experts say. That could at least allow the DEA and drug companies to accurately anticipate how much they’ll need in years ahead.
The DEA sets its quotas based on numbers from previous years, Ganio said.
Although doctors have been permitted to continue prescribing stimulant medications over telehealth since the U.S. public health emergency expired in May, the allowance is set to end Nov. 11. At that point, first-time prescriptions for stimulant medications won’t be allowed over telehealth.
The DEA will allow patients who already have prescriptions via telehealth to continue doing so for an additional year. After Nov. 11, 2024, all patients will need in-person visits to continue their ADHD prescriptions, though the DEA says this plan could change.
“We continue to work towards a final set of telemedicine regulations,” a DEA spokesperson wrote in an email.
The drawback to these changes, some argue, is that they risk exacerbating health disparities.
- Caroline Hopkins
Dec 5, 2022 · The drug’s shortage, expected to last at least through 2022, comes as stimulants like Adderall constitute the frontline therapy for ADHD, with overall use up since 2006, especially among adult women. BU, which offers resources to students with ADHD, has lucked out so far.
- Rich Barlow
Feb 8, 2024 · While drugmakers behind brand-name Adderall, Vyvanse and Concerta say their products are readily available, many generic manufacturers say they are struggling to keep up.
- tina@cbsnews.com
- 2 min
Jun 14, 2024 · The new CDC advisory noted that there is an ongoing prescription drug shortag e in the United States involving several stimulant medications commonly prescribed to treat ADHD, a brain disorder...
Feb 2, 2023 · They may be able to prescribe a brand-name version if your child normally takes a generic, or a different dosage level. Since these are controlled substances, the pharmacy needs a script for the precise drug and dosage. This can mean some back-and-forth between clinician and pharmacy.
