Roche Loses Accutane Suit

In an opening memory of Merck's loss during the first Vioxx trial and subsequent vow to fight (and win the majority of subsequent cases individually), Roche Holdings lost a suit to an Alabama man in a New Jersey courtroom.

Andrew McCarrell filed in New Jersey, where Roche's US operations are headquartered. His suit claimed that the company's acne medication called Accutane caused McCarrell to develop inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a catch-all term for Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis. IBD is often treated with medication, although severe cases require durgs with significant side effects, pain, surgery and a significant increase in the risk of colon cancer.

McCarrell was awarded $2.5 million in punitive damages and $119,000 in expenses. Roche, basing its argument on McCarrell's diagnosis a year after he stopped taking the drug and science's inability to determine what causes IBD, announced that it plans to appeal.

Labels: Accutane, IBD, Roche

posted by Consumer Help Web Editorial Team at 9:41 AM |