The first new drug in over a decade for children with ADHD has been approved by the US regulators. ADHD stands for Ancient Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which causes impulsivity, inattention, and Hyperactivity. Drug named Qelbree was approved by the Food and Drug administration on late Friday, which would be useful for the treatment for the deficit hyperactivity disorder in the children of the age group of 6 to 17. The Qelbree is a type of capsule which has to be taken daily. Qelbree is not a stimulant or a controlled substance, which makes it hard to abuse than the older drugs. Ritalin, which is another type of drug used in the treatment of ADHD, containing the stimulants amphetamine or methylphenidate. Ritalin had a problem with its ingredients, so is less preferred as compared to other drugs used in ADHD treatment. Qelbree carries a warning of potential for suicidal thoughts and behavior. Only 1% of children were observed to have these suicidal thoughts from the one on whom the study was done. Qelbree is developed by Supernus Pharmaceuticals of Rockville, Maryland.
Until now, Supernus Pharmaceuticals have not yet disclosed the price for the drug Qelbree. It is sure to be much higher than the cheap generic ADHD pills. About 6 million American Children and adolescents are affected by the ADHD. These people face trouble in paying attention, completing the tasks and impulsiveness. Supernus’ intention to invent the drug was to make sure that the parents who don’t want to give their child stimulant can switch on to the capsule Qelbree, which might be much beneficial to their child’s treatment. This drug might be helpful for those children who might have side effects of the stimulants and might need additional therapy for substance abuse problems. Supernus did a study on 477 children of ages 6 to 11, who took the drugs for almost six weeks. The problem of Inattention and hyperactivity symptoms were reduced by 50% as compared to the placebo group. Qelbree, also known as viloxazine helped in reducing the symptoms in a week in some study volunteers. Few adults are currently taking ADHD medicines and Supernus is at the late stage of testing for adults with ADHD. Viloxazine was never approved by the FDA, which was once sold as an antidepressant in Europe for several decades. Viloxazine’s sales were ended by the maker itself two decades ago for business reasons, as competitors’ pills like Zoloft and Prozac came to rule the market.
