The U.S. is suffering a shortage of amphetamine mixed salts, an active ingredient used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy, warned the Food and Drug Administration.
The most well-known drug that uses amphetamine salts is Adderall, the ADHD treatment made by Israeli pharmaceutical manufacturer Teva Pharmaceuticals.
The company, having upped supplies due to increased demand, is now experiencing intermittent manufacturing delays, the FDA said this week.
Teva Pharmaceuticals said there is a good supply of Adderall and its generic version to meet current demand.
“It is possible that some people may encounter a backorder [intermittently] based on timing and demand, but these are only temporary,” Teva spokesperson Kelley Dougherty told The Washington Times. “We expect inventory recovery in the coming months.”
While other manufacturers make generic drugs with amphetamine salts, the FDA said there is not sufficient supply to continue to meet U.S. market demand through those producers.
Attempts by the FDA and manufacturers to make up the shortfall continue; manufacturer Alvogen received shipments for 5-milligram pills and 15-milligram pills on Friday.
The FDA said another version of the drug, the extended-release version of amphetamine mixed salts, could be used instead of Adderall and its generic alternatives.
The other manufacturers currently producing enough supply to make all pill dosages available, according to the FDA, are Sandoz, Lannett Co. Inc. and Sunrise Pharmaceutical Inc.
SpecGX LLC has all dosages available except for 20- and 30-milligram pills, for which there will be supply constraints through January. Rhodes Pharmaceuticals LP has all dosages except for 5-milligram pills. Epic Pharma LLC has all of its pill dosages currently back-ordered.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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