Hundreds of drugs are in short supply around the U.S., pharmacists warn

A growing number of drugs are in shortage in the United States, pharmacists say.

In the first three months of the year, there were 323 active drug shortages, surpassing the previous record of 320 shortages in 2014, according to a survey conducted by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the Utah Drug Information Service. It’s also the largest shortage since the trade group began tracking data in 2001.

“All classes of drugs are vulnerable to shortages. Some of the most concerning shortages are in sterile injectable generic drugs, including cancer chemotherapy drugs and emergency medications stored in crash carts and procedure areas of the hospital,” ASHP said in a statement.

Adderall, which is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is one of the medications that is the hardest to find. The Drug Enforcement Administration said last fall that more than a dozen manufacturers planned to increase production of the drug, which is in shortage since October 2022but the problem persists, noted the group of pharmacists.

“The current national shortage of therapies for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also remains a problem for clinicians and patients,” they said.

Contribute to the The additional shortage includes a spike in prescriptions during the pandemic, with a key manufacturer experiencing production delays and other companies failing to meet production targets.

Most drugmakers have not disclosed the factors causing these shortages, the group noted in its quarterly findings. But experts pointed to demand outpacing supply, manufacturing constraints and disruptions in raw material supply chains.