INSIDE COMPLIANCE

Since October 2022, the United States has been grappling with an ongoing shortage of Adderall, a cornerstone prescription stimulant for millions of Americans. What began as intermittent shortages due to manufacturing disruptions has evolved into a prolonged supply constraint affecting patients, providers, and regulators. Behind this shortage lies a complex overlap of regulatory frameworks, legal reporting obligations, and compliance risks that are present across the pharmaceutical industry. Thus, the Adderall shortage is not simply a manufacturing hiccup. It is a case study in how overlapping regulatory regimes can collectively constrain supply in ways that neither regulators nor companies can easily fix in real time. Thus, ensuring sustainable access to ADHD medications and promoting proper use will require clearer authority, better data integration, and shared accountability across drug regulators and the Big-Pharma industry. Without these reforms, shortages will remain a recurring crisis to manage, rather than a systemic problem to prevent.