Generic Brand Accutane Lawsuits Will Still Go Forward

Information provided by the manufacturers of Accutane and generic isotretinoin has been vague and confusing, leaving many doctors and patients unclear about the extent of the risk of Accutane IBD problems and the impact the bowel damage can cause. Accutane lawsuits involving bowel disease have been filed by thousands of individuals from across the United States. The complaints include allegations that the drug makers failed to properly test and research Accutane intestinal problems and failed to adequately warn about the risk of inflammatory bowel disease on Accutane. There have been thousands of reports involving inflammatory bowel disease with Accutane, often among individuals who have no prior history of intestinal problems.

Although Roche, the manufacturer of the popular acne medication, was aware of the potential Accutane bowel side effects for years, they failed to take adequate steps to warn consumers and the medical community about the extent of the risk.

There are now over 6,000 Accutane inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) lawsuits pending in a New Jersey mass tort litigation that began five years ago. Over the summer, more than 1,500 lawsuits were filed in the Accutane litigation, and it is expected that more cases will be filed in the future. The spike in Accutane claims filed in New Jersey comes on the heels of a court ruling there that found the statute of limitation for such lawsuit should be based on when plaintiffs discovered there could be a connection between the Accutane and their bowel disorder.

In recent years, a number of generic Accutane lawsuits have been filed against drug makers for failing to warn about the risk of inflammatory bowel disease from the acne medication. A recent ruling was issued by the Supreme Court, which ruled that generic drug companies cannot be held liable for failing to warn about known side effects of medications they sell, so long as their labels are identical to those of the original brand-name product. Accutane lawyers argue that, because generic drug makers are required to replicate the warning labels of the brand name drugs they clone, patients were made equally unaware of the dangerous risks of gastrointestinal injury they faced as a result of taking isotretinoin.