FDA approves 1st new pediatric ADHD drug in more than a decade

The FDA has approved the first new drug designed to treat ADHD in children in over a decade. 

Advertisement

The FDA April 2 approved Supernus Pharmaceuticals’ Qelbree to treat ADHD in children ages 6 to 17. 

Qelbree is a daily capsule, and unlike other ADHD drugs, it’s not a stimulant, so it’s less addictive and less likely to be abused, according to The Hill

The drug comes with a warning that it may cause suicidal thoughts and behavior, which was observed in less than 1 percent of clinical trial volunteers. 

In clinical trials, 477 children ages 6 to 11 took Qelbree for six weeks, and symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity were found to decrease by 50 percent compared to the placebo group, according to The Hill. The drug is currently in late-stage testing for adults. 

Rockville, Md.-based Supernus Pharmaceuticals hasn’t disclosed the price of the drug. 

Read Supernus’ full news release here

More articles on pharmacy:
Privacy watchdogs want to know how pharmacies are using COVID-19 vaccine sign-up data
US vaccinates 4 million people in 1 day
Bristol Myers Squibb pays $75M to resolve claims it underpaid rebates to Medicaid

Advertisement

Next Up in Pharmacy

  • Nationwide, hospitals and pharmacies are seeing ongoing shortages of medications including some anesthetics, antibiotics, opioids and chronic disease treatments, FDA…

  • GLP-1 medications such as Wegovy, Mounjaro and Ozempic helped drive a 9% year-over-year increase in U.S. prescription dispensing revenue, which…

Advertisement

Comments are closed.