Otsuka Won’t Face Lawsuit Alleging Deficient Abilify Warning

Otsuka America Pharmaceutical Inc. won judgment from a California federal court in a woman’s suit alleging that it failed to adequately warn about the risk that low doses of Abilify could cause a movement disorder.

Ina Rodman’s warning challenge “founders on a lack of proof,” because her expert testimony was unreliable and because her treating physician said he would have prescribed the drug to treat her depression even with the warnings she sought, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said Monday.

John Hawkins, Rodman’s psychiatrist, diagnosed major depressive disorder in 2010 and prescribed Abilify. Rodman’s tardive ...