Children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been struggling for weeks to buy the medication that allows them to have a functional life in pharmacies throughout Spain: methylphenidate. There are patients who have had to stop taking the drug because they have not been able to find it in any establishment, confirm the Spanish Society of Pediatric Neurology (Senep) and the Spanish Federation of ADHD Associations (Feaadah).
Both are concerned about a situation that will not have a short-term solution: the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (Aemps), dependent on the Ministry of Health, has reported that the supply will not return to normal until the first half of the year. 2025. “At this time the different laboratories are releasing units, but they are not enough to cover the demand,” Aemps acknowledges in a statement. And he attributes the lack of supply to “capacity problems at manufacturing plants and an increase in global demand above forecasts.”
Not all people diagnosed with this disorder take drugs, but this is what is prescribed as the first option when previous alternatives, such as therapy or strategies with family and school, do not work. It is an active ingredient – marketed by three laboratories with different names (Concerta by Janssen, Rubicrone from Laboratorios Rubió and Atenza from Exeltis Healthcare) – which is used to reduce symptoms of “inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity”. “Not taking it daily can lead to complicated situations. In children with significant behavioral problems, if impulsivity and disorganization are not controlled, significant family and school imbalance can occur,” describes neuropsychiatrist Marcos Madruga, secretary of Senep.
Not taking it can lead to complicated situations. In children with significant behavioral problems, if impulsivity and disorganization are not controlled, they can cause significant imbalance.
Mothers and fathers have already passed through your consultation, very nervous and worried about having run out of capsules for their children. “In these cases – develops the neuropsychiatrist – we give them an alternative but we know that it is not the best option: prescribing a drug that has a shorter release of the compound. The one that has supply problems is the one that operates for 12 hours, so we combine the eight and four hours; or we put another one, lisdesampetamine, but it is more expensive and many times you need a special visa.”
Approximately 150,000 boys and girls have this disorder in Spain. Marcos Cores is the father of a seven-year-old who has been taking Concerta for three years. To buy the last bottle of capsules, ten days ago, he visited 40 pharmacies in Galicia. “I ended up achieving it, but it was an odyssey, I am in tension because I may or may not be lucky. “I look at the map and I start calling like crazy,” he says in conversation with elDiario.es. Her son experienced a “radical change” when starting treatment: he can concentrate and be calm.
The Spanish Federation of ADHD Associations (Feaadah) filed a complaint with the Ombudsman this Monday after reporting cases of shortages throughout Spain. “Families go on a pilgrimage to pharmacies here or there and they don’t get it. We are talking about a medication that is needed to have a functional daily life. It is not only concentration, it is self-regulation of emotions, help in management…”, defends the president of the federation, Maite Urquizu.
To dimension the situation: in Euskadi alone, 60% of diagnosed people take medication and this is the first treatment that is tried on them, according to the data managed by Urquizu.
What the laboratories say
There have been specific moments of lack of supply, all the sources consulted agree, but never like now. Never for so long. The boxes arrive in dribs and drabs and are being distributed equally throughout the territory, says the Aemps, so that, within the shortage, the distribution is fair. “The cost of this situation is enormous for families and for the health system, which has to urgently care for patients to give them an alternative,” says Madruga.
“Given the possibility that it is not possible to start or continue treatments with the prolonged-release tablet presentations of methylphenidate,” the Aemps recommends that new patients begin directly taking some subtypes of the drug that are available. The risk now, Urquizu warns, is that the demand for these other medications – modified release, that’s what they are called – will greatly increase and another shortage will occur.
Janssen, to questions from elDiario.es, responds that the situation is due to “production limitations”, without further details, and a “growing demand in multiple markets”. The laboratory says it is working to “minimize the impact” and rules out that the shortage is due to a “safety, efficacy or quality problem.” The other two laboratories have been contacted by this means without receiving a response.
#Patients #ADHD #left #medication #due #lack #supply #Spain
