By Ike Swetlitz | Bloomberg
The Adderall shortages that emerged across the US last year started quietly.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the country’s largest producer of the pills, ran into manufacturing troubles but made no announcement. The Food and Drug Administration, which tracks such problems, didn’t alert the public.
In fact, the news came out almost by accident: In July, a Reddit user posted about their difficulty finding a pharmacy to fill their prescription. They contacted the FDA and received a message saying that Teva expected delays for the next two to three months. The company and the agency later confirmed the supply issues to Bloomberg News.
More than half a year later, there’s been little resolution. Adderall, which treats attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and the sleep disorder narcolepsy, remains in short supply, with five companies reporting availability issues, according to the FDA. A recent survey of local pharmacies showed that some 97% didn’t have adequate stock of the medicine.
And for a drug regularly used by millions of Americans to stay focused, the reasons behind the shortage are largely a mystery.
The haphazard way the news of the Adderall issues trickled out is emblematic of the secrecy and confusion that has long existed around the manufacturing and distribution of the pills, classified by regulators in the same category as highly addictive drugs such as oxycodone and fentanyl.
As the shortage stretches on, it shows the difficulties of tracking a tightly controlled medicine where any hiccup in the supply chain can lead to chaos. That’s all the more frustrating at a time technological advances and regulatory changes are meant to make it easier for people to fill prescriptions.
Adderall usage has climbed amid growing social acceptance of mental-health conditions and stimulant medications as treatments, along with increased availability through telehealth. But rising demand is only part of the story. Teva…
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