Manufacturing Supply Chains and Imports in the ADHD Drug Shortage

What do the data reveal about the likely causes of the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication shortage of 2022-2023?In this economic evaluation using time series data (2015-2025) on US production, consumption, and trade of stimulants, the most recent ADHD drug shortage coincided with a historically unprecedented decrease in US imports of the active ingredient amphetamine and a more modest decline in the imports of phenylacetone, a key precursor.This finding suggests that international supply chain disruptions likely contributed to recent ADHD drug shortages.

Corresponding Author: Janet Currie, PhD, Department of Economics, Yale University, 30 Hillhouse Ave, C150, New Haven, CT 06511 (janet.currie@yale.edu).

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