The FDA has issued a warning about counterfeit generic Adderall tablets that are being sold over the Internet.
The fake product claims to be Teva Pharmaceutical's 30-mg generic form of the drug, but it does not contain any of the four active ingredients in the genuine product, which is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy.
Instead of dextroamphetamine saccharate, amphetamine aspartate, dextroamphetamine sulfate, and amphetamine sulfate, the tablets contain tramadol and acetaminophen, a combination approved for the treatment of acute pain both in generic form and branded as Ultracet.
The FDA noted that Adderall is on its drug-shortage list because of supply issues involving the active ingredients.
"Consumers should be extra cautious when buying their medicines from online sources," the agency stated in a press release. "Rogue websites and distributors may especially target medicines in short supply for counterfeiting."
The bogus tablets are round and white and do not have any markings. They come in a blister pack, which may contain misspellings, including "aspartrte" in place of aspartate and "singel" rather than single. They should be considered "unsafe, ineffective, and potentially harmful," the FDA said.
The legitimate tablets, on the other hand, are round and orange/peach in color and have "dp" on one side and "30" on the other side, with the two numbers divided by a line.
In addition, Teva's 30-mg tablets are packaged only in 100-count bottles marked with the National Drug Code (NDC) 0555-0768-02.