Dosing - Crushing, Chewing, or Splitting of CONCERTA

Summary

• Swallow CONCERTA whole with liquids. Do not split, crush, or chew the extended-release tablets because doing so will compromise the extended-release characteristics of CONCERTA and may compromise the effectiveness or safety of CONCERTA.¹
• There is no sudden release of the entire Methylphenidate (MPH) dose even if it is highly disrupted (ie, chewed or crushed).²

PRODUCT LABELING

Please refer to the following sections of the enclosed Full Prescribing Information that are relevant to your inquiry¹: DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION; DESCRIPTION; and PATIENT COUNSELING INFORMATION.

BACKGROUND

Swallow CONCERTA whole with liquids. Do not split, crush, or chew the extended-release tablets because doing so will compromise the extended-release characteristics of CONCERTA and may compromise the effectiveness or safety of CONCERTA.¹

In CONCERTA tablets, the core MPH is mixed with a high molecular weight polymer. When a crushed tablet is mixed with water or other aqueous solutions, the tablet forms a gel. This is the reason why, under normal circumstances, the MPH in the CONCERTA tablet core is very difficult to extract. Therefore, there is no sudden release of the entire MPH dose even if it is highly disrupted (ie, chewed or crushed).²

LITERATURE SEARCH

A literature search of MEDLINE^®, Embase^®, BIOSIS Previews^®, and Derwent Drug File (and/or other resources, including internal/external databases) pertaining to this topic was conducted on 05 February 2025.