Accutane Side Effects
In addition to Accutane’s link with birth defects, the drug has been identified as a cause of depression and suicide. According to the FDA, as many as 20,000 people may have committed suicide because of depression brought on by Accutane.
Yet Roche continued to market Accutane as a treatment for depression. In a 1998 warning letter to Roche, the FDA told the company to stop its “false and misleading” advertisements that made these claims.
Up to 20,000 people may have committed suicide because of depression brought on by use of Accutane.
The link with suicide
A 1992–1994 French study also showed that Accutane was associated with depression, leading authorities there to force Roche to add “suicide attempt” to a list of Accutane’s side effects for prescriptions sold in that country.
Despite this acknowledgment of the link between Accutane and suicide, Roche failed to inform the FDA of the contents of the French warning labels; the FDA did not learn of them until 1998. Only then did it force Roche to add “depression, and rarely suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts and suicide” to the list of Accutane side effects on U.S. warning labels.
If you or a loved one were prescribed Accutane and have suffered from any of these conditions associated with the drug, you may be entitled to compensation.
