Three Appellate Court Judges in New Jersey reinstated cases against Hoffman-La Roche Inc. and Roche Laboratories Inc. stating that the drug maker’s warning on the adverse effects of the drug Accutane did not adequately warn that the acne drug caused inflammatory bowel disease. The drug companies did have a warning on the drug packaging which stated that Accutane was “associated” with inflammatory bowel disease but the Appellate Court held that the word “associated” wasn’t strong enough and the warning failed to warn that Accutane caused inflammatory bowel disease.
Attorneys on behalf of individuals who took Accutane and were injured found evidence in the course of the litigation that the drug companies knew the harmful effects of Accutane but failed to inform the United States Food and Drug Administration or change the labeling to warn of the harmful effect.
What the ruling means is that the cases that were dismissed by a lower court are now reinstated and can proceed forward to a jury trial and/or settlement between the parties.