Roche Reaches Pretrial Settlement for Lawsuit over Accutane Side Effects

Nutley, New JerseyInternational pharmaceutical manufacturer Roche, the makers of Accutane, have reached a pretrial settlement in a 2003 lawsuit stemming from the purported link between the acne medication and serious bowel conditions.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">Acne sufferer Jason Peipert filed a claim against the drug maker in 2003 after he began to suffer bouts of bowel pain that was later confirmed to be inflammatory bowel disease. The medication's chief ingredient, isotretinoin, was conclusively linked to the disease in a recent study performed by the American College of Gastroenterology.

Peipert has agreed to drop all claims against the manufacturer, though the exact details of the settlement have yet to be revealed.

To date, nearly 1,000 cases have been brought against Roche over the medication, and the company has lost six, resulting in more than $56 million in payments to users of the acne medication. Roche has also gained negative attention by the Public Eye Awards, which accuses the manufacturer of knowingly providing medical supplies for the use of illegal organ harvests in China.