DANVILLE, Calif., May 25, 2018 - A drug that causes people to gamble? This has to be a scapegoat for bad behavior or another crazy lawsuit like McDonald’s and the too hot coffee. While this sounds unbelievable, massive numbers of people have reported having compulsive behavior after taking the antipsychotic drug Abilify (aripiprazole). Even the underfunded FDA has published a safety report on May 3, 2016 warning that “compulsive or uncontrollable urges to gamble… have been reported with the use of the antipsychotic drug aripiprazole.”From when it was introduced to the market in 2002 until 2017, U.S. sales alone of Abilify have totaled $51.34 billion (yes, BILLION). The question here is this: how can a drug that was created and approved to help patients who are battling schizophrenia and bipolar disorder - approximately 3% of the population - become the 8th highest selling drug?

The Issues with Abilify

There are many problematic issues that are associated with Abilify that are harming hundreds of thousands of patients:

• The FDA states, “The mechanism of action of aripiprazole, as with other drugs having efficacy in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, is unknown.” If we don’t know how a medication works, can we really assess the potential problems that can occur from taking it? Are these patients acting as guinea pigs to see what works and what doesn’t?
• The European Medicines Agency required Abilify warnings for the risk of pathological gambling in November 2012, but Abilfy didn’t have a warning in the U.S. until May 2016. That’s four years where American patients were in the dark!
• Abilify is supplied to VA hospitals and state prisons and these patients aren’t given the option as to which antipsychotic medication to take. Once on an antipsychotic medication, it’s extremely difficult to get off of them due to withdrawal symptoms.

What Needs to be Done?

A global settlement is set for September 2018, so it’s critical for patients who experienced compulsive gambling while on Abilify to contact Periscope Group today before it’s too late to get help.

Further Information

For more information about Abilify, visit periscopegroup.com/abilifyhelp. For interviews or to tell your story, contact Jennifer Stanich-Banmiller at (925) 964-1485.