On October 3, 2018, the New Jersey Supreme Court made its long-awaited decision in the Accutane Multicounty Litigation. Developed by the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giant Hoffman-La Roche, Accutane is a prescription acne treatment that has been found to be linked to inflammatory bowel disease.
Numerous plaintiffs filed lawsuits in New Jersey, essentially claiming that, based upon the drug maker’s own internal documents, Accutane’s warnings should have been stronger in stating that Accutane has been found to directly cause inflammatory bowel disease. A Multicounty Litigation was formed, which encompassed 532 plaintiffs – of which 18 were New Jersey residents, and 514 were residents of 44 different jurisdictions other than New Jersey.