Appeals court tosses lawsuit over anti-acne drug

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.

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.