Drug manufacturers Otsuka Pharmaceuticals and Bristol Myers Squibb face a woman’s recent Abilify compulsive behavior lawsuit over allegations that the drug led her to suffer extreme financial hardship due to the drug’s compulsive behavior side effects.

Plaintiff Sharon T. files the Abilify compulsive behavior lawsuit joining a growing multidistrict litigation (MDL) against the company in Florida federal court. The lawsuit was filed on July 3, 2018.

According to the Abilify compulsive behavior lawsuit, Sharon is a resident of the State of North Carolina. She says that she took Abilify between June 2010 and December 2015.

Her ingestion of the medication led her suffer “incurred past and future non economic damages, including physical injury, and mental pain and suffering, disability, mental and physical impairment, loss of reputation and social stigma, and loss of enjoyment of life,” the Abilify compulsive lawsuit states.

Other damages she claims include lost profits, loss of use of property, loss of earning capacity, and incurred past and future economic damages.

The Abilify compulsive behavior lawsuit was filed on multiple counts including strict liability, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, negligence, negligence per se, negligent misrepresentation, violation of consumer protection laws, fraudulent concealment, and punitive damages.

Overview: Abilify Compulsive Behavior

Abilify (aripiprazole) became approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an oral tablet or injection medication to help treat conditions such as schizophrenia, manic episodes that may occur with bipolar I disorder, major depressive disorder (MDD), Tourette disorder, and irritability associated with autistic disorder.

However, allegations against the manufacturers of the drug claim that the drug causes adverse side effects and complications including causing compulsive behaviors, such as eating, sex, shopping, and gambling that were never mentioned.

Lawsuits against the companies claim negligent design of Abilify leading to adverse effects and complications. They claim that the companies knew that the drug caused these side effects, but they failed to notify and warn consumers of these risks. Abilify was approved by the FDA in 2002 but warnings for compulsive behavior side effects was only added in May 2016.

Side effects of compulsive behavior are said to happen almost immediately after taking Abilify. Once a patient switches over to a different medication, Abilify compulsive behavior side effects are also said to stop. When taking Abilfy patients have complained of being unable to control the urge to perform acts such as gambling even to the point that they cause themselves social, financial, and personal injuries.

While it is not clear just how Abilify causes compulsive behavior, the drug reportedly works by mimicking the brain’s dopamine pathway. Studies have found that Abilify acts on dopamine neurons and dopamine pathways, affecting and influencing reward-seeking behavior.

Other side effects to Abilify have also reportedly included nausea, drooling, constipation, anxiety, trouble sleeping, blurred vision, dizziness, drowsiness, and weight gain.

The Abilify Compulsive Behavior Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-01502-MCR-GRJ, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Pensacola Division. The Abilify Lawsuit is in re: Abilify (Aripiprazole) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3:16-md-2734, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.