Posted on 01/04/2012 9:09:45 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
A contentious relationship between drug manufacturers and the Drug Enforcement Agency may cause a continuing shortage of the attention deficit medication Adderall, which the FDA just added to its official drug shortages list, the New York Times reported.
As of 2007, about 9.5 percent, or 5.4 million, of school-aged children were diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyper Disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adderall prescriptions went up 13.4 percent from 2009 to 2010, and more than 18 million prescriptions were written for the drug, Reuters reported.
As demand for the drug grows, more and more patients have found the medication is out of stock at local pharmacies.
Experts say it’s difficult to say where the reason for drug shortage lies. To manage controlled substances that can potentially be abused, the DEA sets manufacturing quotas for drug ingredients each year to control supplies like Adderall. But Adderall drug manufacturers, which include Shire Plc and Novartis, Teva and CorePharma LLC, say they cannot meet the growing demand for the product without looser limits from the DEA. The DEA questions whether there is actually a shortage of generic supplies, which are at an especially low supply, or whether the drug companies want to sell more of the expensive brand-name drugs.
Despite the growing demand, Special Agent Gary Boggs of the DEA’s office of diversion control told the New York Times, ”We believe there is plenty of supply.”
Barbara Carreno, a DEA spokeswoman, told Reuters that hundreds of drugs that do not require a DEA quota, and those shortages are not caused by quota limits, but marketing ploys by drug makers.
“Any shortage of these products is therefore a result of decisions made by industry regarding manufacturing or distribution,” Carreno told Reuters.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
More War on Drugs stuff.
Nanny State PING!
Thanks for the ping!
Yet another reason to abolish the DEA and execute or imprison all who work for it.
My 14 year old takes Dextroamphetamine. It is becoming harder and harder to find it. I have to sometimes call 10-15 pharmacies till I find it.
This upsets me. It’s all about money. My son who is severely ADHD needs his med.
Is the script only refillable one month at a time? I guess what I am asking is can you purchase say six months worth at one time?
It’s for one month at a time. So hard to get it. :(
In fact, most of the brand name manufacturers own generic houses. It is a little known fact that when brand name manufacturers produce a "generic" version the FDA does not consider that product a generic but simply a different batch of the innovator drug.
This vertical integration of innovator and generic houses makes economic sense but contributes to shortages. If there is a problem with manufacture of either the branded or generic form it causes shortages of both. And since most drugs are not continually being manufactured the shortage can be prolonged before another batch is produced.
Useful: Here is the FDA list of Current Drug Shortages.
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/DrugShortages/ucm050792.htm
Welcome to the precursor of Obamacare.
More to come.
I get supplies of 90 doses of Vyvanse through mail order pharmacy, which is supposed to be less harsh than the Adderall as well.
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