A former Wall Street banker is blaming a popular Parkinson's disease medication for triggering a gambling addiction that caused him to lose $3 million, Reuters reported.
Randolph Simens, 55, says that he took the drug Mirapex from 2002 to 2007 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The drug, he says, triggered a gambling compulsion that started as a "tickle" and snowballed within a month.
He is suing drugmakers Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer and Pharmacia & Upjohn for breach of warranty, negligence and negligent misrepresentation.
A spokesperson for Pfizer told Reuters the company has not marketed Mirapex since 2005, when medical studies first linked the drug to compulsive behaviors, including gambling.
Pfizer said that it had "acted reasonably and appropriately during the entire time period it was involved with Mirapex."
Mirapex is also prescribed for restless leg syndrome.
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