Abilify Compulsive Gambling Lawsuits

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., the makers of Abilfy are under fire for the side effects of their blockbuster drug. The companies are exposed to a new product liability and personal injury lawsuit, which claims that the compulsive or pathological gambling side effects associated with the popular antipsychotic medication causes severe financial harm.

Nicholas Meyer recently filed against Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

Meyer alleges that he suffered gambling losses in excess of $45,000 after starting to use Abilify. According to Meyer, he began using the drug in November 2010, and developed a compulsive gambling habit.

Meyer claims that the compulsive gambling problems stopped once he stopped taking the drug, but he has been left with economic damages from the side effects of Abilify.

Meyer in his lawsuit claims that, “The injurious impact of Abilify on the Plaintiff’s brain constitutes a physical injury, and as a result of Abilify use, Plaintiff has suffered, and will continue to suffer, neuro-psychiatric and physical injury, emotional distress, harm, and economic loss as alleged herein.”

Abilify Compulsive Gambling Problems

Abilify (ariprazole) is a blockbuster cash cow drug for Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co.,in the United States, with sales in excess of $6 billion per year.

Abilify was approved by the FDA in 2002 for treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other major depressive disorders, but is also widely used off-label to treat irritability, aggression, mood swings and other behavioral issues including autism spectrum disorders.

Abilify Warnings in Europe and Canada

In November 2012, European drug regulators required Abilify pathological gambling warnings, adding information to the label about reports of users engaging in uncontrollable gambling activities and recommending that patients should be monitored carefully. But the companies neglected to provide similar warnings to patients and doctors in the United States.

The companies provided warnings about the link between Abilify and gambling to the Canadian doctors in November 2015, after governmental regulators found cases where patients began compulsive gambling or hypersexuality behavior.

Mounting Abilify Lawsuits

Several Abilify gambling lawsuits have been filed in recent months throughout the United States, claiming that the drug manufacturers knew or should have known that the Abilify patients face an increased risk of uncontrollable gambling.

The plaintiffs blame the makers for withholding warnings from patients and doctors that may have allowed folks to identify the problems before they suffered damages to their financial stability.

Medical Studies: Abilify and Gambling

A study published in October 2014 in JAMA Internal Medicine found that medications known as dopamine receptor agonists, that are used to treat Parkinson’s disease, were associated with impulse control problems. The researchers also found the same abnormal behavioral problems with the use of Abilify.

Abilify has been linked to compulsive behavior side effects, such as pathological gambling, binge eating and hypersexuality. These behaviors are triggered by the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin.

When the dopamine system is stimulated in response to a particular activity, people will feel a high from it or a feeling of pleasure. Medical experts think Abilify may over-stimulate dopamine reward receptors in the brain – called dopamine 3 (D3) receptors – and trigger compulsive behavior.

Abilify: Devastating Financial Losses

Compulsive addictive gambling from Abilify can have a tremendously devastating impact on patients, causing serious financial losses and reckless behavior that can destroy families, and cause irreversible damage folks. When a person has a compulsive symptom, a brain irregularity makes some behaviors impossible to stop without medical assistance.

Compulsive gamblers have a tough time walking away from gambling facilities including slot machines, blackjack tables, casinos, roulette wheels, horse and greyhound racing, and poker tournaments even if they are broke. One sad and tragic outcome is that they gamble on credit and drive themselves into unsustainable debt, ruining their and their families lives.

Plaintiffs claim if they were adequately warned about the risk of compulsive behaviors, they may have avoided the damaging consequences by stopping use of Abilify.