Abilify is a drug that has been approved for treating schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression. However, in 2013 it was discovered the company had withheld information about side effects from doctors and patients. This led to lawsuits which claimed Abilify caused severe birth defects as well as aggressive behavior like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease
The “abilify settlement update 2021” is a lawsuit that has been filed against Abilify. The plaintiffs allege that the company failed to warn about the potential for severe and permanent side effects of the drug.
(As of February 19, 2018)
Our lawyers are pursuing legal action on behalf of individuals who were administered the antipsychotic drug Abilify (aripiprazole) and experienced gambling losses as a result.
Our lawyers are pursuing legal action on behalf of individuals who were given Abilify and experienced gambling losses as a result.
Despite the fact that scientific research has connected Abilify to compulsive gambling since at least 2010, the drug’s prescription label did not list gambling as a potential adverse effect until recently. In May 2016, the FDA issued additional Abilify warnings for compulsive gambling, shopping, eating, and sex, citing hundreds of adverse event reports.
Otsuka/Bristol- While generating millions of dollars in incentives to physicians, Myers continued to seek to extend Abilify’s permitted uses. Despite the fact that Abilify became the best-selling medicine in the United States, its manufacturers refused to voluntarily incorporate a new warning label that may have averted predictable patient damage.
If you or someone you know took Abilify and become addicted to gambling, you may be eligible for compensation. During a free, no-obligation consultation, contact us to learn more about your rights.
What Causes Compulsive Gambling When You Take Abilify?
Some patients who had never had a history of compulsive behaviors reported gambling excessively after starting Abilify.
Compulsive gambling is a terrible disorder that has the potential to ruin lives. Pathological gamblers are unable to control their gambling desires and often roll the dice to the point of financial, social, and personal ruin.
As their addiction worsens, problem gamblers may end up gambling with money they need for other things, accrue credit card debt to support their activity, lose employment and personal relationships, wind up in prison, and develop poor physical and mental health.
Although the specific etiology of compulsive gambling is unclear, researchers think it is linked to a problem with the dopamine system in the brain, which governs emotions, pleasure, and reward.
Dopamine manipulation has long been linked to compulsive gambling and other reward-seeking behaviors in the scientific literature.
Experts aren’t sure how Abilify causes this behavior, but it’s becoming evident that it has something to do with how Abilify affects the brain’s dopamine pathway, which mimics the effects of dopamine.
Dopamine manipulation has long been linked to compulsive gambling and other reward-seeking behaviors in the scientific literature. A scholarly publication “does reveal a conceivable mechanism by which medications that operate on dopamine neurons, including aripiprazole, can perhaps have some influence on behavior connected to award,” according to Otsuka’s 6-Month Periodic Safety Update Report from September 2011.
Although studies like the one above don’t prove a conclusive relationship between Abilify and compulsive gambling, FDA rules compel drugmakers to alter their labels only when “reasonable evidence of a causal association with a medicine” exists. This was discovered by regulators in Canada and Europe: The “totality of the evidence” and the “extensive usage of Abilify” were cited by Health Canada as grounds for including gambling and hypersexuality warnings some years before the United States did.
Why did the FDA increase the number of Abilify warnings?
The FDA indicated in a May 2016 Drug Safety Communication that additional labels for Abilify will be added to warn patients about compulsive behaviors such as uncontrolled desires to gamble, shop, eat, and have sex.
Although the FDA added information concerning Abilify and compulsive gambling to the labels in January 2016, it determined that this warning was insufficient. The FDA said in their safety announcement:
Despite the fact that pathological gambling is mentioned as a side effect on existing aripiprazole prescription labels, this description does not accurately represent the nature of the impulse-control risk that we discovered. In addition, several compulsive behaviors linked to aripiprazole have been identified, including obsessive eating, shopping, and sexual acts.
The FDA amended its safety warning based on approximately 200 reports of Abilify and compulsive behavior, the majority of which were linked to compulsive gambling. Importantly, the obsessive behaviors stopped when Abilify was stopped or the dosage was reduced in these patients.
What are the allegations in the Abilify lawsuits?
Suits filed against Abilify claim a combination of the following:
- Patients were damaged by Abilify because it made them bet uncontrollably, causing financial, psychological, and bodily suffering.
- Otsuka and Bristol-Myers Squibb knew—or should have known—that Abilify causes and contributes to compulsive behaviors like uncontrolled gambling when prescribed and administered as directed.
- Otsuka and Bristol-Myers Squibb spent millions of dollars on deceptive advertising that exaggerated Abilify’s advantages while downplaying its hazards.
- Abilify and its potential negative effects were not thoroughly studied by Otsuka and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
- Abilify was unlawfully pushed by the producers for applications that were not permitted by the FDA.
- For the promotion of Abilify, the makers paid doctors $10.6 million.
- The labeling for Abilify contradicts that of Canada and Europe, which cautions against compulsive gambling and other compulsive behaviors.
- The advantages of Abilify do not exceed the hazards.
Bristol-Myers Squibb agreed to a $19.5 million settlement with the US Justice Department in December 2016 for illegally promoting Abilify and downplaying the drug’s many hazards.
While the payment does not constitute an admission of guilt, it is expected to strengthen Abilify litigation throughout the nation.
What Kinds of Damages Can Plaintiffs Recover?
Compensation for Abilify-related losses may be obtained via a lawsuit:
- Losses from gambling, financial instability, and other economic losses
- Injuries to the brain and mind are known as neuropsychiatric injuries.
- Injury to the body (due to the injurious impact of Abilify on the brain)
- Emotional anguish
- The loss of a spouse’s consortium
The amount of compensation to which a claimant is entitled is determined by his or her specific losses and circumstances.
Are There Any Abilify Lawsuits in the Past?
There has been precedence for Abilify litigation. Several years ago, similar litigation regarding the medicine Mirapex were resolved.
Mirapex is a prescription medicine used to treat Parkinson’s disease symptoms. Mirapex, like Abilify, is a dopamine agonist. Abilify and Mirapex both act on the same dopamine receptors in the brain, and they’ve both been related to pathological gambling and other compulsive behaviors.
Mirapex claims, like Abilify cases, allege that the drug’s maker was aware of the hazards of compulsive gambling (or should have been aware based on a slew of studies showing a relationship), but failed to adequately investigate or warn patients about them.
A federal jury awarded $8.2 million in compensatory and punitive damages to a man who claimed Mirapex led him to gamble excessively and lost $260,000 over a four-year period.
250 more Mirapex claims, merged as part of a multi-district action, settled for an unknown sum some months after this settlement was reached.
The aforementioned judgements and settlements may not guarantee the same outcomes for Abilify claimants, but their similarity creates a strong precedent.
What Kinds of People Are Eligible to File a Lawsuit?
A candidate for an Abilify lawsuit should match any or all of the following criteria:
- A doctor prescribed Abilify, and I took the prescription as directed.
- There has never been a gambling issue.
- At this time, you must be 28 years old or older.
- While on Abilify, I lost over $30,000 due to excessive gambling.
- Gambling losses are documented.
- After taking Abilify in 2009, I had gambling losses.
- Abilify is no longer being used.
What can I do to learn more?
If you or someone you know started gambling uncontrollably after taking Abilify, you may be entitled for legal action. During a free, no-obligation case assessment, contact us to discover more about your alternatives.
The “abilify potential individual settlement amounts” is a lawsuit that was filed against Abilify. The company has been accused of hiding the risks associated with their drug.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a class action lawsuit against Abilify?
A: Yes, there is a class action lawsuit concerning Abilify. This case was filed with the Superior Court of California in Oakland in 2010 and it alleges that Janssen Pharmaceuticals unfairly marketed its antipsychotic drug Anafi for off-label uses by promoting false information about how safe and effective the pill was for treating patients as young as 18 months old.
What is the status of the Abilify lawsuit?
A: There are no updates on the status of the lawsuit.
Can Abilify cause compulsive behavior?
A: Yes, Abilify can cause compulsive behavior. This is the reason for which it has a black box warning on its label and comes with a risk of abuse or misuse that may lead to addiction.
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