ABVC BioPharma has addressed growing public concern about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder treatment in the United States, emphasizing the safety-focused approach of its plant-based drug candidate ABV-1505. This comes amid increased discussion about psychiatric polypharmacy, the practice of using multiple psychiatric medications over time, particularly among children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD.
Recent media reports, including an article in The Wall Street Journal, have highlighted anecdotal accounts of individuals who began ADHD medication at a young age and later received numerous additional psychiatric prescriptions. These stories underscore public awareness of potential long-term medication burdens associated with conventional stimulant therapies and the need for safer alternatives.
Analyses published by major U.S. media outlets have drawn attention to an emerging pattern where children and adolescents starting with ADHD medications are more likely than the general population to later receive additional psychiatric drug prescriptions. This raises important questions about long-term treatment strategies, safety, and the need for therapeutic approaches that minimize downstream medication burden.
ABVC's ADHD program centers on ABV-1505, a botanical extract derived from Polygala tenuifolia. Unlike traditional stimulant or amphetamine-based therapies, ABV-1505 is plant-based, non-stimulant, not shown to cause addiction or dependency, and has not demonstrated drug-related serious adverse events in clinical studies. The candidate is designed to potentially reduce the likelihood of escalating to multi-drug psychiatric regimens.
ABV-1505 has completed a Phase II clinical trial at the University of California, San Francisco, which showed statistically significant improvement on ADHD rating scales compared with placebo. The treatment was well tolerated with no serious safety concerns observed. The company is preparing the next phase of clinical development in collaboration with global partners.
"Growing concerns about long-term psychiatric medication burden highlight the need for safer, non-stimulant, and non-habit-forming ADHD treatment options," said Dr. Uttam Patil, ABVC's Chief Executive Officer. "Our plant-based candidate ABV-1505 is being developed precisely with this purpose, to explore whether an effective treatment can also offer a cleaner and safer tolerability profile."
Patil noted that many families are searching for therapies that can help manage ADHD symptoms without increasing the risk of additional psychiatric medications later in life. The company believes ABV-1505 represents a meaningful step toward expanding the treatment options available to patients and healthcare providers. This development is particularly significant as discussions about ADHD treatment safety continue in media outlets including CNN and other major news organizations.
