A woman and her husband have filed an Abilify side effects lawsuit after she allegedly suffered bodily injury from the medication. Her legal action joins an Abilify MDL.

Plaintiff Tangelia Y. says she took Abilify from 2008 until 2017. As a result, she claims she suffers from losses that continue or are permanent, including the loss of earnings, the loss of ability to earn money and loss of enjoyment of life.

The Abilify side effects lawsuit indicate she has “suffered bodily injury and resulting pain and suffering, disability, mental anguish … and aggravation of previously existing conditions.”

Abilify is a prescription atypical antipsychotic medication that treats depression, bipolar I disorder and schizophrenia. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals manufacture Abilify and are the named defendants.

Abilify Risks and Warnings

According to the Abilify side effects lawsuit, the drug makers should have known that the drug causes an increased risk of the patient developing or increasing compulsive gambling or other uncontrollable behaviors. Abilify labels did not warn of these risks until January 2016 when the words “pathological gambling” were added to the postmarketing experience portion of the label.

In May 2016, the FDA said warnings regarding “compulsive or uncontrollable urges to gamble, binge eat, shop, and have sex” would be included in Abilify’s label. That warning, along with the fact that the patient might not recognize these new behavior patterns as abnormal, were added in August 2016.

Abilify Side Effects Lawsuit Alleges Cover Up

In 2002, Abilify went on the U.S. market, and a large marketing campaign promoted the drug’s particular use as an adjunct therapy if a patient on an antidepressant was still experiencing symptoms.

By 2012, the European Medicines Agency warned that Abilify possibly induced pathological gambling and required the label to address this potential increased risk. Interestingly, the European market never approved Abilify to treat depression because the agency was not convinced the medication was effective in that arena.

Canada’s drug regulating agency revealed in 2015 that an increased risk of gambling and of hypersexuality were linked to Abilify. These warnings were added to Abilify’s label in Canada.

The label regarding Abilify side effects in the U.S. did not mention these possible compulsions until January 2016. By omitting the side effects on the U.S. label, American patients and the medical community were unaware of the possible risks of developing uncontrollable, pathological compulsions.

The Abilify side effects MDL points out that Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka “have made significantly more revenue from Abilify sales in the United States compared to Europe.”

Abilify’s sales totaled $2.3 billion worldwide in 2013. In just one three-month span in 2014, Abilify made $417 million in the U.S. alone. Worldwide, Abilify made $555 million during that same period of time.

The Abilify Side Effects Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-00420-MCR-GRJ, and is part of the Abilify MDL, In re: Abilify (Aripiprazole) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2734, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Pensacola Division.