Abilify MyCite was granted regulatory approval in 2017, becoming the world’s first “smart pill” that could digitally track whether patients had taken their medication. The new technology was introduced as one that had gained the support of patients and ethicists alike, and could contribute to solving the widespread and costly problem of patient nonadherence. Here, we offer an in-depth exploration of this narrative, through an examination of the origins and development of Abilify, the drug that would later become MyCite. This history illuminates how an antipsychotic can become a top-selling drug and maintain its blockbuster status for more than a decade. It also provides a detailed case study for how knowledge is constructed within the logic of biomedical capitalism, providing impetus to reexamine claims regarding how MyCite addresses patient nonadherence, engenders patient support, and is ethicist-approved.

Abilify MyCite 于 2017 年获得监管部门批准，成为世界上第一个可以数字化跟踪患者是否服药的“智能药丸”。这项新技术的推出得到了患者和伦理学家的支持，并且可能有助于解决患者不依从这一广泛且代价高昂的问题。在这里，我们通过考察 Abilify（后来成为 MyCite 的药物）的起源和发展，对这一叙述进行深入探讨。这段历史说明了抗精神病药如何成为最畅销的药物，并在十多年来保持其重磅炸弹的地位。它还提供了关于如何在生物医学资本主义逻辑中构建知识的详细案例研究，为重新审视有关 MyCite 如何解决患者不依从性、获得患者支持以及获得伦理学家批准的主张提供动力。