March 1, 2004: FDA Considers Registry for Accutane Users
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked its scientific advisers to examine the need for further safeguards surrounding Accutane use and potential birth defects. In order to help prevent pregnancy in women using the acne drug, one proposal would allow Accutane prescriptions only for those patients whose use is tracked on a national registry. Proof of a negative pregnancy test would be required in order for any woman on the registry to receive a monthly prescription, and only doctors and pharmacists enrolled on the registry would be authorized to prescribe and disperse the drug.

February 26, 2004: Consumer Group Tells FDA to Pull Accutane
The non-profit group Public Citizen told the FDA that, due to serious risks of birth defects and links to depression, the acne drug Accutane should be pulled from the marketplace and be prescribed only under extremely limited circumstances. Before an FDA advisory committee, a Public Citizen spokesman estimated that Accutane is prescribed to women at a rate 26 times that which would be acceptable. Public Citizen is expected to again officially petition the FDA for the drug's withdrawal, as it did in 1988. Go here to read Public Citizen's testimony before the FDA advisory committee.

October 9, 2003: California Parents of Suicide Victim Sue Accutane Maker
The parents of a 14-year-old northern California boy sued Hoffman-LaRoche, the maker of Accutane, after the high school freshman threw himself in front of a train. In a state court lawsuit alleging general negligence, fraud, and medical malpractice, the parents claim that use of the prescription acne drug led to the boy's depressive behavior and eventual suicide.

September 9, 2003: FDA Warns of Illegal Foreign Versions of Accutane