ADVERSE PSYCHIATRIC EFFECTS OF ROACCUTANE

That this House notes with great concern that the Roaccutane form of isotretinoin has been implicated in reports of 878 psychiatric disorders, including 44 suspected suicides, since its registration in 1983; further notes that Roche, the drug's manufacturers, maintain that there is no causal link between Roaccutane and suicidal tendencies; further notes that its variant in the US, Accutane, has proved controversial and was withdrawn from the US market as a commercial decision following mounting litigation; further notes that clinical studies using the drug on rats and mice have discovered evidence of disruption to serotonin levels, causing depression, but that similar studies have not been conducted on humans; and urges, in light of the increasing number of tragic suicides of recent years, the withdrawal of Roaccutane from the UK market pending further and full investigations into adverse reactions to the drug, to prevent further unnecessary deaths.