New report argues connection between Accutane and IBD

Last July, I noted that Roche Holding AG pulled its Accutane acne medicine from the U.S. market (see here). I noted that, not surprisingly, there were different reactions to the story. On the one hand some thought that was a victory for consumers (for example here), while, on the other hand, some argued that it was an example of the cost of litigation driving a beneficial drug off the market (see here.) The article that held this last positon focused only on the lack of evidence to support the claim that Accutane caused inflammatory bowel disease. Interestingly, today Pharmalot is reporting that a new study shows Accutane users, which remains available as a generic, have almost twice the odds of developing IBD as those not taking the drug. The full story is available here and it includes a link to a report in the The Los Angeles Times.