Abilify Lawsuit Says Companies Gambled With Patient Well-being

Abilify has received a lot of press lately in regards to a lawsuit that many who were prescribed it have been pursuing in the name of justice. The medication itself is an antipsychotic which is also known by its medical name Aripiprazole as well as the brand name Abilify. Otsuka is the Japanese company that developed it and markets it in the United States along with Bristol-Meyers Squibb. The FDA has approved it for treatment in patients with major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, bipolor maintenance, and autism. With sales reaching almost $7 billion dollars already there is a lot at stake, and these companies need to get it right so that unintentional side effects do not cause the users problems which might be avoided with further research.

What Is The Lawsuit About?

The primary information that many are concerned about is learning exactly what the lawsuit entails. Basically, it comes down to Abilify being one of the top-selling drugs for the pharmaceutical companies in the United States, and many who took the pill are now coming together in the form of a class-action lawsuit to argue that it affected their brain function negatively leading to compulsive behaviors and loss of impulse control. The regulators in the European and Canadian segments of the market were able to gather enough information regarding this issue that they had the labels updated in order to provide a warning about this type of compulsive increase.

Side Effects Worse Than Main Issue

If this information turns out to be totally reliable, then there are many who are suffering from problems due to this gambling that could be even more serious than what they initially saw the doctor about. In any case, the combining of both their initial health issue along with a psychological stress, financial woes, and social and health problems that have stemmed from the gaming ventures has many putting Abilify aside. There have already been studies showing that this compulsivity is a real threat and manifests in the form of hypersexuality in many instances. In that case, these patients did not have such complications before they were put on the medication by health professionals in their area.

Cease Abilify and Behavior Stops

With much of this European and Canadian research taking a deeper look into the lives of certain Aripiprazole users, it has been realized that once they stopped taking the medication the developed behavior was able to be ceased.

Class Action And Other Filings

Some of the law firms who are interested in hearing from and working with individuals who have experienced such complications are coordinating a class action lawsuit. However, others are taking a more individualized approach and only suing singly. The main problem is that the drug companies are required to publicize and issues, and BMS has already had to pay out millions before because of improper marketing. If they are found to have downplayed the issue here, then there are lots of potential payouts at stake.