Mother of Charles Bishop Files $70 Million Wrongful Death Suit Against Hoffmann-La Roche

Business Wire, April 16, 2002

In 1999, Dr. T. Middlecoop published a study which showed the number of people prescribed Accutane worldwide was 6 million while the number of people prescribed the other top five acne medications was approximately 300 million. According to the Middlecoop study, there were 170 cases of suicide, suicide attempt and suicide ideation recorded for Accutane among the 6 million population of users, but only eight reports of suicide attempts total, with no reports of suicide or suicide ideation, for the five other medications used by more than 300 million patients. The study concluded that Accutane is 900 times more likely to cause depression in its users than the five other acne medications reviewed.

Roche/Hoffmann-La Roche, who developed Accutane in 1971, initially chose not to pursue marketing and distribution of the drug because of the risk of serious, thalidomide-like birth defects. In June 1982, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Accutane for treatment of cystic acne and over the years the FDA has repeatedly required Roche/Hoffmann-La Roche to strengthen their warnings concerning the danger of birth defects associated with Accutane on 8 different occasions. In spite of these warnings, the number of Accutane related birth defects continues to increase.

Charles Bishop, a licensed student pilot, died on January 5, 2002 when he flew a Cessna aircraft from a flight school at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport and crashed it into the 28th floor of Bank of America Plaza in Tampa. He was killed, but no one else was hurt. Convinced her son's death is related to taking Accutane, Charles's mother, Julia, has retained the services of leading drug liability attorneys Peter McNulty of California, Paul Smith of Austin, Texas and Michael Ryan of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Peter McNulty is an expert on drug liability. He has also founded the Accutane Victims Litigation Group (www.accutanelitigation.com) a nationwide group of attorneys experienced in products liability litigation regarding defective prescription drugs, especially Accutane. He is known in the legal community as a preeminent drug liability attorney and has commented on the subject for several national media outlets.

Paul Smith has a private practice in Austin, Texas, concentrating on Accutane and pharmaceutical litigation on a national basis. Paul specializes in products liability, medical malpractice, handles only pharmaceutical and medical device litigation. He was lead counsel in In Re Eli Lilly & Company Prozac Litigation, MDL Docket No. 907, a nationwide, multidistrict litigation concerning the anti-depressant drug Prozac which was alleged to cause suicidal and aggressive behavior in individuals taking this drug. Additionally, Paul was lead counsel and tried Fentress v. Eli Lilly & Company which was at the time the largest civil litigation case in Kentucky history.

Michael Ryan is an associate with Krupnick Campbell Malone Roselli, et al. (www.krupnicklaw.com) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Krupnick Campbell Malone Roselli specializes in national and international litigation against corporate giants. The firm has achieved settlements, after verdicts, involving defective products of over $200 million in the past 10 years alone. Personally, Mr. Ryan who specializes in medical device, medical malpractice, and pharmaceutical litigation, has assisted the firm in obtaining over $25 million in trial verdicts in two years.