June 26, 2008
The manufacturer of Accutane, Roche Holding AG, has withdrawn its acne drug Accutane from the U.S. market after several trials during which juries awarded damages of more than $33 million dollars in compensation to injured consumers who alleged that their use caused them to suffer bowel disease including ulcerative colitis, a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Accutane had been manufactuered, supplied, marketed and sold to approximately 13 million consumers since it was introduced to the market in 1982. The medication was Roche’s second-biggest selling drug but its sales fell precipitously after it lost its long standing sole patent to generic manufacturers.
Roche communicated its decision to withdraw Accutane from the U.S. market to the Food and Drug Administration. Its spokes person issued a statement in which it failed to accept accountability, saying only:
“In addition, Roche has been faced with high costs from personal-injury lawsuits that the company continues to defend vigorously.”