Accutane was a prescription acne medication used for the treatment of severe acne that did not respond to other treatments such as antibiotics and topical ointments. It was pulled from the market by its manufacturer, Hoffman-La Roche, in 2009. Hoffman-La Roche cited generic competition as the reason behind the pulling of the product, but there are certain other factors in the Accutane lawsuit case that may also have fueled the recall.
Lawsuits have been pouring in from across the country for years, and Hoffman-La Roche has already paid millions of dollars in settlements to plaintiffs who are insisting that doctors and Hoffman-La Roche did not do enough in terms of warning patients about the risks of Accutane before actually prescribing it. In the case of one Alabama man whose intestinal problems from Accutane were so bad he was forced to have his colon removed, the company paid $25 million after an appeal in settlements to him.
Side effects related to Accutane are often intestinal in nature and include ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and inflammatory bowel disease. It has also been associated with miscarriage and severe birth defects and problems with eyes, skeletal system, ears, and liver. Serious psychiatric problems have also been reported to be associated with Accutane, and some lawsuits involve patients or families of patients who either considered, attempted, or committed suicide.
Although nearly 50 million people in the United States suffer from acne, and it is the most common skin disorder in the United States, Accutane was meant to be prescribed only in severe cases – however, up to 90 percent of women and almost half of teens who were taking Accutane only had mild cases. About 13 million people were prescribed Accutane in total. It is not known how many lawsuits will go through the legal system before trials end, but it looks like it’s going to be an expensive few years for Hoffman-La Roche.
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