Judge M. Casey Rodgers, overlooking Abilify multidistrict litigation (MDL), recently ordered September 1, 2018, as the deadline for the drugmakers to declare a way to settle more than 800 lawsuits claiming compulsive behavior, gambling and suicidal tendencies due to Abilify use. If the drug makers fail to come up with a settlement plan within the time provided, the court will assign a fresh set of lawsuits from the MDL to trial.
The manufacturers Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka settled three bellwether cases from the MDL for undisclosed amounts. There is limited scientific information regarding how the drug leads to compulsive behaviors in what age group and when. However, thousands of patients have already reported that Abilify use developed psychological complications and impulses in them. In case the drug makers come up with a resolution plan for litigation, it will provide insight for other patients struggling with devastating side-effects.
The antipsychotic and antidepressant drug is used to treat bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression in adults, and Tourette syndrome in younger people. However, patients have reported various adverse events such as binge eating, compulsive gambling, increased risk of stroke and hyperglycemia. Abilify lawsuits were consolidated as a multidistrict litigation MDL No. 2734 (In Re: Abilify Compulsive Behavior Products Liability Litigation) in October 2016 before Judge M. Casey Rodgers in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
