Quick Hits: FDA Says U.S. is Running Low on Anxiety Meds

A common antidepressant is in short supply as prescriptions rise in the United States.

Tim HayesContributing Editor, Healthcare Packaging
Jun 8th, 2020

A recent NBC News article discussed a surge in demand for anxiety and depression medications that are causing shortages. The FDA posted reports of shortages of the common antidepressant Zoloft and it’s generic equivalent, sertraline, just two days after a Johns Hopkins survey that revealed increased feelings of distress and despair in U.S. adults. 

Pfizer, maker of Zoloft, says its manufacturing can keep up with existing demand, but cannot keep pace with new prescriptions. Accord Healthcare, Inc., maker of sertraline, said it can’t source the drug’s active ingredient “due to the impacts caused by COVID-19,” and estimates a 60-day shortage.

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