Gambling Side Effects Of Abilify
Users of the antipsychotic medicationAbilify might be eligible to receive money from a global settlement reached bythe company this past February.
According to the court order, issued inmid-February 2019, all lawyers for plaintiffs in the cases will need to appear fora case management conference to resolve the lawsuits pending in federal courtsthroughout the country. Claims administrators have been appointed to the caseand settlement deadlines have been set.
Finally, on May 3, 2016, the FDA took action and requiring the companies and patients about Abilify’s side effects and added to its labels “compulsive or uncontrollable urges to gamble, binge eat. Possible side effects of Abilify antipsychotic treatment include pathological gambling, suicidal thoughts, binge eating and other compulsive behaviors. Medical studies have linked Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company’s top-selling antipsychotic drug, Abilify, to binge eating, pathological gambling and other compulsive behaviors, and individuals who experienced these.
The terms of the settlement are privateand will continue to remain so while lawyers review the information for theirclients.
Bristol-Myers Squibb, the maker ofAbilify, filed a motion the same day the order was issued asserting that thecourt ask any plaintiff who rejects the settlement to provide additionalinformation certifying the claim had been reviewed in an appropriate manner.
Abilify Makers Did Not Properly Warn Patients of Side Effects
According to the lawsuits, drug makersfailed to provide adequate warning to Abilify users concerning the drug’sserious side effects, among which included uncontrollable urges to gamble.Users also experienced a number of impulsive behaviors they claimed were linkedto their use of the drug.
The global settlement came after threebellwether cases were resolved about six months prior during the summer of2018.
A judge ordered the drug makers to comeup with a plan for settling claims related to the drug’s side effects followingthe settlement of three lawsuits within the MDL for undisclosed amounts.
As of the decision to stay theremaining cases, there was limited scientific evidence concerning whether ornot and how the drug would trigger compulsive behaviors and whether everyoneusing the drug would be at risk. Gathering data that would conclusively proveor disprove the claims would require clinic trials that would be “massive andresource-intensive.”
Abilify Users Experienced Intense Urges to Gamble While Using the Drug
Thousands of users of Abilify haveclaimed that their use of the drug caused out-of-character behavior that resultedin financial devastation.
One female user whose case washighlighted in Stat claimed shebecame a compulsive gambler “virtually overnight” after beginning use of thedrug in December 2014 to treat anxiety and depression. She drained her family’sbank accounts and took out a loan for $50,000 within six months after she begantaking the drug. Her gambling behaviors stopped the moment she was taken offthe drug.
Is Gambling A Side Effect Of Abilify
Gambling is not the only compulsivebehavior linked to Abilify use.
Another woman whose story was shared inthe Daily Beast claimed she developeda sex and shopping addiction during her time taking the drug. She describedbeing obsessed with sexual fantasies and would send X-rated photos to peoplevia text message. Her time on Abilify also included shopping sprees where shepurchased cars and additions for her home. Her and her husband eventually hadto file for bankruptcy.
Abilify received approval from the FDAin 2002 for treating bipolar disorder, Tourette’s disorder, and symptoms ofautism. It’s also been used to treat depression and is often prescribed foroff-label purposes, including treating eating disorders and anxiety.
The drug was a financial success forits makers, earning more than $51 billion in the United States and continue tohave healthy sales even after a generic version was released in 2015 –something that rarely happens for brand name medications.
Reports of side effects linked toAbilify use began rolling in and by 2012, the European Medicines Agencyrequired that Abilify be labeled with a special warning, noting the post-marketreports of pathological gambling. Canadian regulators issued a similarrequirement in 2015 and the FDA finally issued its own warning in 2016 – longafter many Abilify user’s lives had been destroyed.
This is not the first time the makersof Abilify have come under fire for the drug. In 2007, the company paid outmore than $515 million to settle federal charges related to illegal marketingof the drug for off-label uses. Doctors can legally prescribe medication foroff-label use, but drug maker are not permitted to market the drug for thoseuses.
And in 2016, the company reached a $19.5 million settlement with 42 states and the District of Columbia, again over the illegal marketing of Abilify for pediatric use and for elderly patients with dementia. The company was also accused of downplaying the drug’s risks.
Gambling Side Effects Of Abilify Withdrawal
Notwithstanding claims relating to this product, the drug/medical device remains approved by the U.S. FDA.