Output of ADHD Meds Needs Boosting
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.
By Physician’s Briefing Staff HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 2, 2023 -- While demand for prescription stimulants is surging, a shortage of the drugs persists, so federal officials have stepped in and asked drug companies to ramp up production of the medications. Officials from both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration made the joint request.
"The FDA and DEA do not manufacture drugs and cannot require a pharmaceutical company to make a drug, make more of a drug, or change the distribution of a drug," FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, M.D., and Drug Enforcement Administration leader Anne Milgram wrote in a letter issued Tuesday. "That said, we are working closely with numerous manufacturers, agencies, and others in the supply chain to understand, prevent, and reduce the impact of these shortages."
The agencies are also asking prescribers to carefully monitor their prescribing practices. "The lack of availability of certain medications in recent months has been understandably frustrating for patients and their families," Califf and Milgram wrote in their letter.
Reasons for the shortage include manufacturing delays by one drugmaker last fall. Meanwhile, demand for prescription stimulants for adults surged during the pandemic, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. The FDA first announced a shortage of Adderall last October.
The DEA limits the amount of stimulants that can be produced, but manufacturers have not been reaching that upper limit, the joint letter noted. A 2022 analysis showed they were 30 percent short of the quota. The agency is asking manufacturers to relinquish any quota they cannot meet so the DEA can redistribute it, while it is "committed to reviewing and improving" the quota process.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted August 2023
Read this next
One in Nine U.S. Children Have Ever Been Diagnosed With ADHD
THURSDAY, May 23, 2024 -- Diagnoses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in U.S. children continue to increase, with approximately one in nine having ever received a...
Prenatal Opioid Exposure Not Tied to Neuropsychiatric Disorders in Offspring
THURSDAY, April 25, 2024 -- Prenatal opioid exposure seems not to be associated with a meaningful increase in the risk for neuropsychiatric disorders in offspring, according to a...
Green Space May Benefit Mental Health in Early Childhood
WEDNESDAY, April 17, 2024 -- Green space is associated with fewer internalizing symptoms in early childhood, according to a study published online April 10 in JAMA Network...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.