Adderall is back, baby!

Teva reports that all of its Adderall products are now available, i.e., they’re off the FDA’s shortage list. Well, the brand-name versions; there are still some generics in shortage.

The company says manufacturing is back to full strength but demand is at an all-time high. And other ADHD meds are still hard to get hold of (but you know that).

The urban legend is true

Almost two-thirds of US currency tested has traces of fentanyl on it, and just about every bill has traces of cocaine and methamphetamine, according to a study out of Thomas Jefferson University.

“[T]his insight suggests that analyzing currency could serve as a valuable tool for tracking drug trends on a regional and national scale.”

Bonus: Stock image includes a $2 bill, which happens to feature namesake Thomas Jefferson.

Weekly insulin candidate has a downside

Use of Novo Nordisk’s Awiqli — its once-a-week insulin icodec injection (which is awaiting FDA approval) — leads to a “significantly higher” rate of hypoglycemic episodes for type-1 diabetes patients, based on a clinical trial.

In the trial, patients with type 1 diabetes on insulin icodec showed 50% to 80% more clinically significant or severe hypoglycemia compared to once-daily insulin degludec.

Novo proposes limiting the Awiqli’s use to patients with continuous glucose monitors and add a label warning prescribers about the risk. The FDA staff isn’t convinced, and the relevant advisory committee will be considering whether the risks outweigh the benefits.

Cancer-killing letter bombs

To communicate, cells use bubbles called extracellular vesticles — they extend from the cell and contain various molecules that send a message to other cells. So Swedish researchers had an idea: Why not include their own message inside those vesticles? A message of death.

They loaded anti-cancer meds into the vesticles (to kill the cancer), then coated them with antibodies that would be attracted to the tumor (to deliver it). Initial tests on mice worked as they hoped, so now they’re expanding their testing with new payloads.

“By attaching different antibodies to extracellular vesicles, we can target them to virtually any tissue and we can load them with other types of drugs as well. Therefore, the treatment has the potential to be used against other diseases and cancer types.”

Elsewhere: Sunburnt Country edition

A hamburger restaurant in Australia was found by the country’s health department to have a horribly unsanitary kitchen — against the law, of course. That has led the government to ban every restaurant in the country from selling hamburgers, even those with legal, pristine kitchens.

Oh, wait. Just kidding.

Actually, it was a single compounder (we won’t use the word “pharmacy”) that was found to be making semaglutide in the equivalent of a garage lab. Still, that one bad compounder has led the Aussie government to forbid any pharmacy from making or selling compounded semaglutide.

Next up: Single reckless driver causes Australia to revoke everyone’s license.

The Long Read: Virus Preppers edition

“The Disease Detectives Trying to Keep the World Safe From Bird Flu”

Science that make us uncomfortable