Posts Tagged ‘ Accutane ’

Parents: Is your Kid on Isotretinoin? (aka Accutane)

March 3rd, 2010. By AbiK

Yes, Roche stopped selling acne drug Accutane back in June 2009. But that was a decision made by that company—not the FDA. And, that decision was made (insert raised eyebrow here) for “business reasons”—not for any safety issues. Ahh, but here’s the thing… those “business reasons” included competition from generics. And guess what? You can still get those generics. Other than Accutane, isotretinoin is sold as Sotret, Claravis and Amnesteem.

I imagine a number of parents of acne-ridden teens breathed a sigh of relief when Roche stopped marketing Accutane. After all, what parent wants to consider putting their teenage daughter on some form of guaranteed contraception in order to be put on a drug proven to cause birth defects just so they can clear up their zits? Beyond that, reports of depression, suicidal thoughts, possible gastrointestinal problems—and labelling that also warns of a potential sudden decrease in night vision (mom, can I have the keys to the car?)—don’t exactly add up to a drug you want your child on.

But let’s face it, internet-savvy teens have no problem beating the system and finding ways to order isotretinoin online—particularly when the promise of clear skin in on the line. Enter a recent study published in the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology (January 2010) titled Availability of Oral Isotretinoin and Terbinafine on the Internet.

The study, by Jason P. Lott and Carrie L. Kovarik, MD, looks at the proliferation of websites that sell certain medications without a prescription—specifically dermatologic medications. In their study of websites readily found via Google search, they categorized the websites into four groups: Illicit Commercial (those that offered purchase without a prescription); Legitimate Commercial (US licensed pharmacies requiring prescriptions); Informational (those offering only information, not sale); and Other for those not fitting into the other above categories.

What did they find? For their search on “no prescription Accutane”, 66% of the sites returned on search were categorized as Illicit Commercial. Translation: you could buy Accutane from them without a prescription.

Lott and Kovarik state that they did not go through and actually purchase any oral isotretinoin via the sites they studied—so it’s not certain that the medications would actually be received or if they would be authentic. That said, the authors of the study indicate that the US Government Accounting Office (GAO) reports that 94% of all online opioid purchases result in delivery of the drugs as advertised.

If the GAO report is true, I’d be checking my kid’s backpack.

Tags: Accutane, Acne Medication, Amnesteem, Claravis, Isotretinoin, Sotret
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