This is one of dozens of lawsuits filed in this regard. Considering Bristol Meyers Squibb and Otsuka were required to add a warning of this potential side effect in Europe and Canada in 2012, but continued to market the drug in the United States, their most lucrative market, without a similar warning or even a mention of gambling in the product literature for four years until required to add the warning in 2016 indicates the manufacturers provided false and misleading information regarding the risk of compulsive behaviors that could occur with use of the drug.Ī case filed Augalleges that use of Abilify influenced in excess of $75,000 in gambling losses. The study also found these urges to subside after discontinued use of Abilify, or changing to another medication.ĭrug manufacturers and sellers have an obligation to inform medical providers and patients of potentially damaging side effects of the products they sell as they become known. Another case contemplated criminal activity in order to obtain gambling funds. One case study, published as early as 2011 in the British Journal of Psychiatry (BJPsych), found that use of Abilify adversely affected the subjects gambling activity and that gambling became a “reason to live” for one. The study also found compulsive gambling was more severe with Abilify than with dopamine replacement therapy. The most recent article, published in December 2015, found of 17 cases studied 16 were possibly caused by the drug. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have published several articles regarding Abilify and compulsive behaviors including gambling. Due to the difficulty in making this association, the number of actual cases is probably much higher.Īt this point, there is a growing body of scientific studies making this association clearer.
In 2014, 29 reports were submitted to the FDA and in 2015, 153 cases were reported.
While the reports of compulsive gambling by Abilify users started slow, with 54 cases reported to the FDA between 20, it is believed that this association is difficult to make and is probably greatly underreported. While the manufacturers, Bristol Meyers-Squibb and the Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company, warned of this possibility elsewhere in the world, no warning of this type was added to the product sold in the United States until the FDA required it in January 2016. Food and Drug Administration) required warnings labels be added to Abilify, warning of the danger of compulsive gambling to users of the drug. In fact in 2012, the European Medicines Agency and Health Canada (both regulatory bodies like the U.S. This association of Abilify and compulsive gambling has been noted worldwide. Regulatory Activity and Reports of Gambling Compulsion Many users of the drug have reported that even if they hadn’t gambled previously in life, that shortly after taking the drug for the first time or after having the dosage increased, they felt an overpowering urge to gamble, and furthermore, once getting off the drug this urge abruptly disappeared. But perhaps the most financially devastating side effect is the compulsive need to gamble. But in some cases, it is linked to compulsive behavioral side effects, such as eating, shopping, and sex addiction. Because of the way it affects the brain, it has been found to have an effect on impulse control, and compulsive behaviors, in particular gambling.Ībilify, first approved for use in the United States in 2002, is part of a class of drugs called dopamine agonists, and affects the dopamine and serotonin levels in the brain and can balance these levels when an imbalance occurs. The drug generated $6.4 billion in revenue in the U.S. Abilify (aripiprazole) is the top selling drug in the United States and is used to treat depression, bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia. Links are provided as a service but the King County Bar Association does not intend links to be referrals or endorsements of the linked entities.If the gaming industry could have designed a drug, perhaps there’s no better match than Abilify. In addition, due to the rapidly changing nature of the law and our reliance on the information provided by outside sources, we make no warranty or guarantee concerning the accuracy or reliability of the content at this site or at other sites to which we link. Moreover, unless expressly stated, views and opinions expressed herein have not been approved by the Board of Trustees of the King County Bar Association and do not necessarily represent the policy of the King County Bar Association. While the information on this site is about legal issues, it is not legal advice.
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