Daily Dose: The Mysterious Disappearing Accutane
-Woman’s Day
11/14/2009 - Ever since my early 20s I’ve been fortunate to have decent skin (I consider it payback for having pretty bad breakouts during my teen years), but I’ve known several people for whom topical creams just weren’t enough to combat blemishes. That’s when they turned to Accutane (isotretinoin), an oral medication that works wonders for the skin but is known for major side effects, including serious birth defects. (Women can only get it if they agree to take birth control pills and submit to pregnancy tests before each prescription gets refilled.) Still, most of my friends seemed to think it was well worth the trouble. So imagine my surprise when one friend (and former user) told me that Roche, the pharmaceutical company that originally developed Accutane, quietly pulled the product from the market over the summer.
It turns out the makers of brand name Accutane decided it was costing them more money than they were making off of it. That’s mainly because the patent ran out (so there are now cheaper generic options), but also because the company was getting hit with one too many personal injury lawsuits. The last straw: patients claiming that the drug causes inflammatory bowel disease—a link that some scientific studies have confirmed.
You can still get this medication in generic form (at least for now)… but would you want to? That’s something for you and your doctor to decide, but consider yourself warned.
If you or a loved one have experienced Accutane side effects such as Accutane birth defects, Accutane Inflammatory Bowel Disease or Accutane Crohn's Disease you may be entitled to compensation. Contact the Accutane attorneys of Ennis & Ennis today for a free confidential case evaluation. Our on staff nurse and Accutane lawyers are standing by to answer any questions you may have regarding Accutane side effects, a possible Accutane class action lawsuit, or any other type of Accutane litigation. |
