Pill Shortage Impacts Productivity: ‘People Unable to Focus’

Johnnyamoeba87/Shutterstock

Countless people depend on the powerful stimulant Adderall to get through their day, but when supply chain shortages interfere with access, they’re left in despair.

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

• A labor shortage at Teva Pharmaceuticals, the top supplier of Adderall and its generic counterpart to the U.S., kicked off a shortage of the popular drug
• People from California, Indiana, Michigan and other states were told by their pharmacies that Adderall was out of stock during August or September 2022
• Among adults aged 22 to 44, the use of Adderall jumped 15.1% from 2020 to 2021; much of the increase is attributed to the loosening of regulations during the pandemic, which made it easy for people to get the drugs without seeing a health care provider in person
• As a Schedule II drug, Adderall is classified as a medication with considerable abuse potential
• Adderall and other stimulants can cause serious adverse effects, including psychosis, heart attack, cardiomyopathy and even sudden death

Supply chain issues have impacted the availability of everything from bicycles and lumber to hot sauce and cream cheese.¹ Now it’s medications that are being affected — specifically Adderall, a popular stimulant drug often prescribed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but which is also used by an increasing number of youth and young adults to increase productivity and stay awake.²

The problem began with a labor shortage at Teva Pharmaceuticals, the top supplier of Adderall and its generic counterpart to the U.S., during the summer of 2022. This led to a limited supply of the pills, which soon spread to other manufacturers, including Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Rhodes Pharmaceuticals and Novartis, all of which had generic Adderall on backorder.³