Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., the makers of Abilify are under fire for the side effects of their blockbuster drug.

The companies are exposed to a new Abilify lawsuit, which claims that Abilify side effects led to gambling addiction and severe financial harm.

Plaintiff Joseph E. of Pennsylvania alleges that he suffered gambling losses in excess of $36,000 after starting to use Abilify.

According to Joseph, he began using the drug in April 2009, and developed a compulsive gambling addiction.

Joseph claims that the compulsive gambling problems stopped once he stopped taking the drug, but he has been left with economic damages from Abilify side effects.

Joseph in his Abilify lawsuit claims that, “The injurious impact of Abilify on the Plaintiff’s brain constitutes a physical injury, and as a result of Abilify use, Plaintiff has suffered, and will continue to suffer, neuro-psychiatric and physical injury, emotional distress, harm, and economic loss as alleged herein.”

About Abilify

Abilify (ariprazole) is a money-maker drug for Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka in the United States, with sales in excess of $6 billion per year.

Abilify was approved by the FDA in 2002 for treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other major depressive disorders, but is also widely used off-label to treat irritability, aggression, mood swings and other behavioral issues including autism spectrum disorders.

Abilify Compulsive Behavior Medical Studies

A study published in October 2014 in JAMA Internal Medicine found that medications known as dopamine receptor agonists, which are used to treat Parkinson’s disease, were associated with impulse control problems.

The researchers also found the same abnormal behavioral problems with the use of Abilify.

Abilify has been linked to compulsive behavior side effects, such as compulsive gambling, binge eating and hypersexuality.

These behaviors are triggered by the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. When the dopamine system is stimulated in response to a particular activity, people will feel a high from it or a feeling of pleasure.

Medical experts think Abilify side effects may over-stimulate dopamine reward receptors in the brain and trigger compulsive behavior.

Help for Compulsive Abilify Side Effects

Several Abilify compulsive gambling lawsuits have been filed in recent months throughout the United States, claiming that the drug manufacturers knew or should have known that the Abilify patients face an increased risk of gambling addiction.

Compulsive gambling from Abilify side effects can have a tremendously devastating impact on patients, causing serious financial losses and reckless behavior that can destroy families and cause irreversible damages.

When a person has a compulsive symptom, a brain irregularity makes some behaviors impossible to stop without medical assistance.

The plaintiffs blame the drug makers for withholding warnings from patients and doctors that may have allowed folks to identify the problems before they suffered damages to their financial stability.

Plaintiffs claim if they were adequately warned about the risk of compulsive Abilify side effects, they may have avoided the damaging consequences by stopping use of Abilify.

The Abilify Lawsuit is Case No. 1:16-cv-00654-CCC in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.