Amid a national spike in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnoses, one of the U.S.’ top providers of a popular ADHD medication has run into supply problems.
Both 20-mg and 30-mg tablets of Teva’s branded ADHD drug Adderall are currently on back order in the U.S., with the company eyeing a release date in early- to mid-August, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), which tracks current drug shortages.
Teva, which Bloomberg News notes is the nation’s top supplier of both branded and copycat Adderall, is also experiencing back-order issues with its generic amphetamine mixed salts as well, ASHP points out. The company expects to release more 10-mg generic tablets in early- to mid-August, followed by 15-mg and 30-mg tablet release dates pegged for the middle of the month. Teva additionally estimates a late-August release for its 20-mg generic tablets, ASHP said.
The FDA, which also tracks national drug shortages, does not list an overall dearth of amphetamine-based ADHD medications on its website.
Teva, meanwhile, has an “active supply of both branded Adderall and its generic version and continues to produce and refill the channel regularly,” a Teva spokesperson told Fierce Pharma via email. She admitted it’s “possible that some may encounter a backorder based on timing and demand, but these are only temporary.”
Teva's spokesperson emphasized that “for both branded and generic Adderall, Teva is actively shipping to customers, and we expect full recovery for all inventory and orders in the coming weeks, at which point we expect no disruption at the pharmacy level.”
The Israeli-American generics giant told Bloomberg separately that it’s suffering Adderall “supply disruptions,” thanks to problems “associated with packaging capacity constraints” at a single manufacturing plant. Those disruptions could bleed into the fall, Teva told the news service.
Bloomberg notes startups like Cerebral and Done have risen sharply on marketing easier access to ADHD meds, which can be prone to abuse. Those services took off in earnest during the pandemic when it was harder to visit doctors in person.
The FDA previously reported a national shortage of ADHD medications from September 2019 through May 2022, Bloomberg notes.
Separately, things could be looking up for Teva in the near future after the company last month rolled out a proposed $4.25 billion settlement to put its long-running opioid litigation to bed. With thousands of lawsuits now poised to enter the rearview, Teva expects to chart mid- to single-digit revenue growth by 2027.