FDA Warns Physicians, Consumers About Sales of Counterfeit Adderall

On Tuesday, FDA issued a warning to consumers and physicians that counterfeit versions of Teva Pharmaceuticals' attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder treatment Adderall are being sold online, the Los Angeles Times reports (Maugh, Los Angeles Times, 5/29).

FDA officials said there have been two reported cases in which individuals received fake versions of the drug with the wrong active ingredients. Agency officials said Adderall has become an easy target for counterfeiters because it has been in short supply since last year (Yukhananov, Reuters, 5/29).

An FDA spokesperson said the counterfeit pills are ineffective and could be harmful to patients because they contain ingredients used to make pain medications (Rockoff/Corbett Dooren, Wall Street Journal, 5/29).

According to the Times, consumers should easily be able to recognize the counterfeit pills because their packaging includes a number of misspellings. In addition, the fake pills are white and smooth, while the authentic pills are orange or peach and have "dp" imprinted on one side and "30" on the other (Los Angeles Times, 5/29).