Appeals court tosses lawsuit over anti-acne drug

Associated Press

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit claiming that the anti-acne drug Accutane causes a chronic bowel disorder.

The consolidated lawsuit by nine plaintiffs accused New Jersey-based drug manufacturer Hoffman-La Roche Inc. of downplaying a link between Accutane and inflammatory bowel disease, which afflicts about 1.4 million people in the U.S. and Canada.

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U.S. District Judge James Moody of Tampa, Fla., rejected the testimony of the plaintiffs’ chief expert witness and then dismissed the case.

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Moody’s decision on Tuesday.

There have been three multimillion-dollar jury awards in similar lawsuits.


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