Martin Sheen Testifies for Actor Suing Roche Over Acne Drug

[Kennah]

Source: Business Week

Martin Sheen told a New Jersey jury about the “extraordinary” talent of fellow actor James Marshall, who claims in a lawsuit that Roche Holding AG’s Accutane acne drug caused his inflammatory bowel disease.

Sheen testified by video monitor to jurors weighing claims by Marshall, 44, who played Louden Downey, a U.S. Marine in the 1992 movie “A Few Good Men.” Sheen, a star of the movie “Apocalypse Now” and the NBC drama “The West Wing,” said Marshall had great promise before his colon was removed in 1995.

“He was projected as a pretty serious movie star,” Sheen, 70, told jurors in state court in Atlantic City, New Jersey. “He had a very unique talent that permitted him to go to that place where all artists try to go, that extremely personal place.”

Marshall seeks at least $11 million in damages from Roche. The Basel, Switzerland-based company, the world’s biggest maker of cancer drugs, pulled its brand-name version of Accutane off the market in 2009 after juries awarded millions of dollars in damages to former users over bowel-disease claims.


Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-03-24/martin-sheen-testifies-for-actor-suing-roche-over-acne-drug.html

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A good Sheen story. Well, the underlying story isn't good, but good actions of a Sheen.

[derby378]

1. Didn't Roche get hit with $100B in fines for antitrust violations not too long ago?

Geez. I hope Frank can make his case stick - you know that Roche's lawyers will fight like it's Agincourt and they're working for Henry V.

[brucefan]

3. Who's Frank? n/t

[derby378]

7. Geez...

I was thinking about James Marshall when my thoughts drifted to producer Frank Marshall, and my fingers misfired. :dunce:

[Wait Wut]

2. Agreed.

Charlie has a good side. Too bad the creepy is such an overwhelming part of his overall personality.

[elleng]

5. Not Charlie; Martin, his father!!!

[Wait Wut]

6. Oh.

Just replace the name. The sentiment remains regardless of which Sheen.

[David__77]

4. I am very thankful for Accutane.

I took it and it rid me of painful acne forever. I know there are terrible side effects for many people. The question is, should it be pulled from the market? Doing so would prevent the side effects. But I can tell you that it has changed many people's lives for the better. I have known people who had very, very bad acne that were social recluses/discriminated against on the job, and benefited greatly from this drug, when nothing else worked.

[DRex]

8. I stuck with the acne....

and I guess I'm glad I never took this drug. I thought about it many many times, it seemed to work for those around me.

I personally would not sacrifice function for aesthetic when it comes to your body. Not worth it. Of course no one really makes that choice. The drug is always safe when they're prescribing it, it's only years down the line we find these things out, and many people like yourself will never have a side effect (knock on wood).

To me, the fact that the company pulled its own drug from the market says that something is very wrong indeed...

But yeah, I thought about it long and hard. I can only imgaine your relief when it cleared you up.

[David__77]

9. For me it was mainly aesthetic, but not for some others.

Acne can be very painful physically. And when there are true boils rather than normal acne cysts, the infection can actually be physically harmful. Not a few people have had serious emotional disturbance, or even committed suicide, with the most severe forms of acne. I wouldn't merely describe it as an aesthetic issue (not saying you were!).

Actually, I recall that while I was on Accutane, my joints hurt and I was quite emotionally off-balance. I also had the worst breakout of my life, which is also common during the first couple months. My blood was checked each month to ensure it wasn't laden with cholesterol and my level was still functioning. I did have one friend who had to go off it because her cholesterol was too high. I have also known a few people who took it more than once because the first time didn't work well enough.

It's been long enough that I'm not too worried about extremely latent harm from the drug. I do not regret it by any means. I just wanted to present another side to the story on Accutane...

[DRex]

12. Oh, I don't judge anyone for taking it...

I was jealous of them. I had tried just about everything else, but when the subject of Accutane came up my doctor was instantly hesitant. That's why I didn't go for it. He said something about my liver and I didn't ask again.

Good point about the health issues that can arise: in that case the risk of the drug seems somewhat negated by the pressing urgency of the condition.

I guess I was mainly thinking about the aesthetic because that's what disturbed me the most, particularly during school. What seemed to me at the time to be a daily nightmare seems like kid's stuff compared to what others have to suffer. I suppose I should always consider myself lucky enough to have been able to concern myself with the aesthetic at the time, not being burdened with a heavier load of hardship.

[bigworld]

14. I used it too

... prescribed for me by the university health clinic back in 1987 or so, no real warnings of future problems, and thankfully I haven't had any.

It certainly did clear up my somewhat bad acne -- for which I'm grateful.

[terip64]

15. My daughter took it in 2000 and it definitely worked. I still worry about it, though. n/t

[noneisthenumber]

10. Poisons To Combat Poisons

Wow, what a tragic case of Pharma Damage. The whole medical system of treating the state of being poisoned (i.e. being diseased) with poisons strikes me as more and more ludicrous as I grow in experience and understanding. It seems pertinent, in my opinion, to note the etymology of the word Pharmaceutical: 1640s (pharmaceutic in the same sense is from 1540s), from L. pharmaceuticus "of drugs," from Gk. pharmakeutikos, from pharmakeus "preparer of drugs, poisoner," from pharmakon "medicine, poison."

Medicine "works" (i.e. effects significant changes in the body system) in lieu of the fact that it is poisonous.

[AnnieBW]

Wasn't He Also in "Twin Peaks"?

I remember an actor named James Marshall playing Laura Palmer's boyfriend in "Twin Peaks".

Ah... IMDB says yes, and also says that he's still working occasionally.

[AnnieBW]

11. Wasn't He Also in "Twin Peaks"?

I remember an actor named James Marshall playing Laura Palmer's boyfriend in "Twin Peaks".

Ah... IMDB says yes, and also says that he's still working occasionally.

[bigworld]

13. Think I've seen him down at the Roadhouse

... I used to be so into that show.