Don’t panic: There’s a nationwide shortage of atenolol
What’s going on with atenolol? In the last few weeks, pharmacists around the country have started raising alarm that this generic drug — a commonly prescribed beta blocker that treats high blood pressure — has become increasingly scarce, even at top pharmacy chains.
Chances are your doctor prescribed you generic atenolol over the brand name version, Tenormin, due to it being only a fraction of the cost ($4 vs. $400). Because of this unexpected (and unexplained) shortage, you might not be able to get your prescription filled at your usual pharmacy. But before you start panicking, here are some things you can do while atenolol is on nationwide backorder.
What to do if you take atenolol
- Check GoodRx.com. Not only can you find the names of local pharmacies, but you’ll also get pricing information. Start by calling the pharmacies listed to see if they have any atenolol in stock. If they don’t, you may want to ask when they expect to be able to start filling prescriptions again. You can split atenolol pills, so you can also ask if they have atenolol in strengths other than the one prescribed to you, and have them call your doctor to change your prescription.
- Keep tabs on the FDA drug shortage database. This is probably your best source of information in the days and weeks ahead. Also be sure to check the news to see if the media has picked up any more information that the FDA hasn’t yet released. Google News works well here; you can even set up alerts that will ping your Gmail account with new mentions of ‘atenolol’ each day.
- Consult your doctor. If no pharmacy can fill your prescription, it might be a good idea to talk to your physician about switching to another beta blocker in the meantime. Some similar meds for high blood pressure include: metoprolol tartrate, metoprolol succinate, and bisoprolol. You can compare these alternatives to atenolol on Iodine.
Why is this happening?
Generics are popular (around 90% of prescription meds are dispensed as generics, after all) because they’re cheaper than brand name drugs — but only if competition in the marketplace exists.
For a drug manufacturer, there are increasingly fewer reasons to produce generic drugs, especially in a competitive market. While choices among manufacturers in the generic market drive prices down for consumers, the result is narrow margins for the companies themselves. This has caused generic drugmakers to consolidate, with one estimate saying that 40% of generic drugs are made by a single manufacturer. When this happens, the benefit of generics to the consumer is quashed.
Right now, there are 4 drugmakers that make atenolol experiencing some form of drug shortage, according to the FDA. The reasons behind it are two-fold: lack of availability of the active ingredient and increased demand for the drug. Two companies (Teva and Zydus) say they are anticipating more supply later this month, but beyond that, not much information is provided.
We’re not sure why this sudden atenolol shortage is taking place. But from time to time, complications and bottlenecking in the manufacturing process may force generic drugmakers to prioritize certain medications over others. And for the reasons above, there is less incentive to sort out the production issues — meaning older generics fall by the wayside to make room for newer drugs, which may have higher profit margins due to less competition. This all can lead to medication shortages of the earlier formulations.
