America’s Adderall shortage deepens: Now a SEVENTH company is warning it’s running out of ADHD drug after sales have skyrocketed during COVID
- Novartis Sandoz is the latest company to report a shortage
- Companies with bottlenecks did not give any specific reasons for the shortage
- The shortage affects approximately 2.5 million Americans being treated for ADD/ADHD
Pharma giant Novartis is reporting shortages of ADHD drug Adderall as nationwide shortages of the drug continue to worsen.
Supply problems have been mounting since the summer when patients struggled to fill their prescriptions at their local retail pharmacies.
Seven pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis Sandoz, have reported shortages of both immediate-release and extended-release generic Adderall
The drug is an amphetamine used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Teva Pharmaceuticals, America’s leading maker of branded and generic versions of the drug, reported shortages of all doses of the generic drugs.
This affects the roughly 2.5 million Americans who depend on medications like Adderall to manage their ADHD. According to the American Psychiatric Association, an estimated 8.4 percent of children and 2.5 percent of adults have ADHD.
During the Covid pandemic, the supply chain has been ravaged, causing shortages of many essentials from toilet paper to baby formula, and also affecting pharmacists’ ability to fill prescriptions.
ADHD is most commonly diagnosed in children, but prescriptions among young adults have exploded in recent years, in part due to the rise of telereceptors like Cerebral and Done Health.
Seven pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis and Teva, have reported shortages of both extended- and immediate-release Adderall and its generic drug.
ADHD diagnoses are most common in school-age children who have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behavior, or being overly active.
Matt Blanchette, Senior Manager of Retail Communications at CVS Health, told : “We are aware of the temporary bottlenecks in the supply chain of generic amphetamine medicines and our pharmacists will work with patients prescribed this drug as needed .”
Meanwhile, Fraser Engerman, senior director of external relations at Walgreens, said, “Our teams continue to work with our suppliers and channel partners to meet patient demand.”
He added, “We have identified some intermittent supply issues with the generic form of this drug and further questions about availability should be directed to the drug manufacturers.”
Even small pharmacies struggle to keep up with demand.
In a nationwide survey by the National Community Pharmacists Association of about 360 independent pharmacies, 64 percent reported drug shortages in July and August.
ADHD is most commonly diagnosed in children and is characterized by impulsiveness, inattention, and/or hyperactivity severe enough to interfere with work and school.
What is Adderall and who does this deficiency affect?
Adderall and the generic version (amphetamine/dextroamphetamine salts) are used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy.
The drug is available in a variety of dosages and in extended-release and immediate-release versions. Everyone’s supplies are low.
The American Psychiatric Association estimates that 8.4 percent of children and 2.5 percent of adults have ADHD.
About 2.5 million Americans are prescribed like Adderall to treat ADD/ADHD.
Many of the millions of Americans who rely on a daily dose of Adderall or its generic have panicked as they attempt to fill their prescriptions.
For example, a 37-year-old patient from New Jersey who has been taking the drug for 12 years called 16 pharmacies in two days before being told it would be two to three months behind schedule, Vice reported.
The drug is intended as a daily medication. Without them, people with ADHD have trouble completing daily tasks and projects.
Prescriptions for the drug, which has an extremely high potential for addiction and is often used as a party drug, have risen sharply in recent years.
Prescriptions reported by Symphony Health increased from 15.5 million in 2009 to 41 million in 2021.
The explosion in prescriptions coincides with the rise of telemedicine companies like Cerebral and Done Health, which have gained a foothold in the healthcare industry during the pandemic.
The companies have come under fire lately for excessive prescribing practices after former employees said they felt pressure from higher-ups to distribute the drugs without sufficient time for a diagnosis to be made.
In the face of public and Drug Enforcement Administration scrutiny, Cerebral has stopped remote prescribing of many controlled substances, including for ADHD, but Done Health continues to do so.