A Dublin man today takes on one of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies in the High Court in an attempt to prove his son committed suicide as a result of using one of it products.
Liam Grant says he is "100 per cent convinced" that his son, also named Liam, committed suicide in 1997 due to a depression brought on by his use of the acne treatment drug Roaccutane.
His case against Roche, and the Irish Medicines Board (IMB), is being watched carefully in the United States; if successful it could open the way for 70 similar cases against Roche in the US.
Mr Grant says the IMB should not have licensed Roaccutane for use here without explicit warnings about its possible depressive side-effects.
At the time of Liam's death the drug, called Accutane in the US, was carrying a label in some countries warning that adverse reactions were experienced by some users. These included "depression, psychosis and, rarely, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and suicide".
The warning was not carried on the drug in Ireland when Liam started taking it in February 1997.
Roche Pharmaceuticals is disputing Mr Grant's claims. It says Roaccutane "is a well-tolerated and effective medicine, which means we have no option but to dispute the claim Mr Grant made. We continue to have the fullest confidence in the drug."
