Pathological Gambling? Binge Eating? Hyper-Sexuality? Compulsive Shopping?

According to the FDA, pathological gambling, binge eating, hyper-sexuality and compulsive shopping are all known side-effects linked to the prescription medication ABILIFY.

Abilify is an anti-psychotic drug developed by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., LTD and Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. It entered the US market in 2002 after co-opting its development and commercialization with the well-known pharmaceutical manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb. Shortly after its US entrance, Abilify quickly became a top-seller in the anti-psychotic medication class and was often prescribed for: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, as well as for autism spectrum disorders and Parkinson’s disease.

Although completely aware of these potential life-ruining side-effects which could result in substantial financial, mental and/or physical damages, it was not until the FDA announced that the Abilify warnings would be changed that Bristol-Myers Squibb modified its US packaging warnings and risk alerts, circa August 2016. Subsequently, in the fall of 2015, Canadian regulators concluded that there is “a link between the use of aripiprazole and a possible risk of pathological gambling and hyper-sexuality with the use of Abilify.”

Despite these warnings and advisories in Europe and Canada, the labeling for Abilify in the United States did not adequately warn about the risk of compulsive gambling and contained NO mention that pathological gambling was reported in patients prescribed Abilify. The behavior of Otsuka and Bristol-Myers Squibb is unacceptable as they intentionally perpetrated a fraud on vulnerable consumers, especially in Nevada.

Abilify is a partial and full dopamine agonist, which is a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers. The role of dopamine in compulsive behavior and pathological gambling is well-known as its reward pathways have frequently been implicated in the etiology of addictive behavior. Scientific literature has identified dopamine as a potential cause of pathological gambling for years.

Despite this known scientific information, and the known side-effects, Otsuka and BristolMyers Squibb aggressively promoted Abilify and illegally promoted off-label usage. In a letter dated April 17, 2015, the FDA found Abilify promotional material “…false or misleading because it makes misleading claims and representations…and misleading because it implies that Abilify offers advantages over other currently approved treatments for bipolar disorder or MDD when this has not been demonstrated.”

Otsuka and Bristol-Myers Squibb have invested millions of dollars in teams of pharmaceutical sales representatives who visit and contact members of the medical community purporting to “educate” them about Abilify, however, they do not “educate” them about the links or risks associated with Abilify and pathological, compulsive or addictive gambling. They have also invested millions of dollars in “direct to Consumer” advertising, conveniently leaving out the same known risks.

If you or someone you know has suffered from complications caused by Abilify, please contact us at 702-380-2800 for more information.