An Illinois woman claims her treatment with Abilify caused her to develop an Abilify gambling problem.

Plaintiff Flora T. claims that she was prescribed Abilify in Illinois, her state of residence, and took the drug between 2011 and 2016. In the Abilify compulsive gambling lawsuit, Flora claims that Abilify caused her to develop a compulsive gambling problem, and seeks damages from the drug’s manufacturers–Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., and Otsuka America Pharmaceutical Inc.

Flora’s Abilify lawsuit is one of many filed under one master complaint against Abilify’s manufacturers in an ongoing multidistrict litigation. Plaintiffs in these Abilify gambling problem lawsuits claim that the company did not properly warn consumers or drug providers that a patient taking the drug was at risk of developing a compulsive gambling problem.

According to Flora and others like her, this Abilify gambling problem did not exist in these individuals before they started taking the drug. It appeared while they were taking Abilify, and it disappeared entirely after they stopped taking the drug.

Other compulsive behaviors have been alleged to be associated with the drug, including compulsive shopping and sex addiction.

Before January 2016, the plaintiffs claim, Abilify’s label allegedly contained no mention of the Abilify gambling problem. After a number of reports of side effects, in January 2016, the manufacturers added pathological gambling to the section of U.S. labels detailing “postmarketing experience.”

According to patients like Flora, the drug’s manufacturers made no mention of the Abilify gambling problem side effect in ads for general audiences or in the “patient medication guide” geared towards both patients and physicians, even after January 2016.

A successor to Abilify has been released — Rexulti. Both drugs are atypical antipsychotic drugs used to treat schizophrenia and serious depression. Both drugs rebalance serotonin and dopamine receptors to improve mood, behavior, and thinking.

Studies show that the stimulation of dopamine receptors can lead patients to develop impulse control problems like the Abilify gambling problem. This is because stimulating dopamine receptors releases feelings of pleasure, encouraging an individual to keep doing an activity bringing them a high — like gambling, shoplifting, or sex, in the case of many Abilify users.

Through an Abilify lawsuit, patients may be able to receive compensation for physical, emotional, and financial injury incurred from taking Abilify. Many patients allege they have suffered significant financial injury from gambling debt incurred as a result of the Abilify gambling problem. 

Patient advocates are also investigating if Rexulti could cause side effects similar to the Abilify gambling problem. If you have experienced compulsive behaviors as a result of taking Rexulti, you may have a legal claim.

Flora’s Abilify Gambling Problem Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-00326-RV-EMT and is part of the Abilify Multidistrict Litigation, Case No. 3:16-md-02734-MCR-GRJ, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Pensacola Division.