FDA Warns Consumers About Counterfeit Version Of Teva's Adderall - RTT News

5/29/2012 10:22 PM ET
(RTTNews) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday warned consumers and health care professionals related to the counterfeit version of Adderall 30 mg tablets that is being purchased on the Internet. Tests by the FDA revealed that these tablets made available through Internet contained the wrong active ingredients.

Israeli generic drug maker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA: News ) is the maker of the Adderall tablets, which is approved to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) and narcolepsy.

Adderall is a prescription drug classified as a controlled substance, a class of drugs for which special controls are required for dispensing by pharmacists. The FDA has cautioned consumers to be careful while buying these tablets online through rogue websites.

The FDA noted that the drug is on its shortage list due to active pharmaceutical ingredient supply issues. It said rogue websites and distributors normally target medicines in short supply for counterfeiting.

The FDA revealed that the counterfeit Adderall tablets are round, white and do not have any type of markings, such as letters or numbers, and it should be considered as unsafe, ineffective and potentially harmful.

The FDA confirmed that the original Adderall 30 mg tablets produced by Teva are round, orange/peach, and scored tablets with "dp" embossed on one side and "30" on the other side of the tablet. These also come packaged only in a 100-count bottle with the National Drug Code (NDC) 0555-0768-02 listed.

The FDA noted that Adderall contains four active ingredients - dextroamphetamine saccharate, amphetamine aspartate, dextroamphetamine sulfate, and amphetamine sulfate. Meanwhile, the counterfeit product contained tramadol and acetaminophen, which are ingredients in medicines used to treat acute pain.

TEVA closed Tuesday's regular trading session at $38.10, down $0.51 or 1.32% on a volume of 29.46 million shares.

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by RTT Staff Writer

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