teaser
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of a prodrug stimulant to treat ADHD in adults.
Vyvanse (Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate) was introduced by Shire PLC in 2007 to treat ADHD in children aged between 6 and 12, with more than one million prescriptions filled in the first eight months of its availability in the US.
But now the once-daily prodrug stimulant has been approved for use on adults with the condition.
Matthew Emmens, Chief Executive Officer of Shire PLC, said: “This approval provides physicians with a new treatment option that can help their adult patients by significantly improving their ADHD symptoms.”
Vyvanse is a therapeutically inactive prodrug, in which d-amphetamine is covalently bonded to l-lysine, and after it is swallowed it is converted to pharmacologically active d-amphetamine. The conversion of Vyvanse to d-amphetamine is not affected by gastrointestinal pH and is unlikely to be affected by alterations in normal GI transit times.
David W Goodman, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of the Adult Attention Deficit Disorder Center of Maryland, said: “Many people may think of ADHD as only a childhood disorder but the fact is that the majority of children diagnosed with ADHD still have symptoms as an adult.”
Copyright © PA Business 2008
