Generic Adderall XR

The question is: can generic Adderall XR be found on the market legally? It can. At least since 2006, when Shire Pharmaceuticals agreed to sell her rights for this brand name to another company called Duramed Pharmaceuticals. Since then, the medication has become available under generic name of "mixed amphetamine salts". Shire intended to retain exclusive patent rights until the patent for the "Adderall" brand expired in 2018. However, Shire first sold Adderall (instant release) to Barr Pharmaceuticals and then let Barr manufacture the generic for Adderall extended-release, too. Also, a settlement has been reached between IMPAX Laboratories and Shire Laboratories Inc., a subsidiary of Britain's Shire Pharmaceuticals in the United States, so IMPAX will be able to sell generic Adderall XR in the United States at least until January 1, 2010. Also, in case of another generic version of Adderall XR being launched, IMPAX may be permitted to enter the market as Shire's authorized generic.

Adderall XR 20mg Capsules

Adderall XR 20mg capsules contain four active ingredients:

1. dextroamphetamine saccharate
2. dextroamphetamine sulfate
3. (racemic dextro/levo-amphetamine) aspartate monohydrate
4. (racemic dextro/levo-amphetamine) sulfate

in equal proportions.

Due to the fact that these different salts are metabolized at different rates, the extended-release form of Adderall XR 20mg capsules have a milder action as compared to single-salt Adderall preparations.

Also, Adderall XR capsules contain two types of beads which dissolve at different rates, too.

IMPAX Adderall XR

IMPAX Laboratories, Inc have launched their own generic version of Adderall XR - a once daily, extended-release, mixture of salts of a single-entity amphetamine product used for the treatment of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). IMPAX Laboratories have been having some trouble with marketing their Adderall XR product, because another company, Shire Laboratories Inc., a subsidiary of Britain's Shire Pharmaceuticals Group Plc, filed a lawsuit against the Company in the USA. Until recently, generic Adderall has only been available in the form of instant-release tablets. Adderall XR (a long-acting form of the medication) was not available in a generic form, as it was protected by a patent. But today, as a proper settlement has been reached, IMPAX may be permitted to enter the US market as Shire's authorized generic. IMPAX will pay Shire a royalty from its generic sales of IMPAX Adderall XR. Together with IMPAX Adderall there may be found other generic versions of the medication produced by a number of companies, including Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Barr Pharmaceuticals, Eon Labs, and Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals.

Adderall and Adderall XR - Any Difference?

There is a difference between "common" Adderall and Adderall XR. XR means "extended release", i. e., the dose of the medication is released into the systme during a longer period of time as compared to the instant-release form. The effect is achieved due to the special formulation of Adderall XR which consists of four different amphetamine salts metabolized at different rates. They are:

dextroamphetamine saccharate dextroamphetamine sulfate (racemic dextro/levo-amphetamine) aspartate monohydrate (racemic dextro/levo-amphetamine) sulfate

That is why the extended-release form of the medication has a milder action as compared to single-salt amphetamine preparations. Adderall XR is a later product by Shire Pharmaceuticals. It was put on the market in 2001, five years after instant-release form of Adderall brand.