Lawsuit ends over boy-pilot’s acne drug

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Relatives of a 15-year-old boy who crashed a stolen plane into a skyscraper in 2002 have dropped their lawsuit that blamed an acne drug for his suicide, saying they were physically and emotionally unable to pursue the claim.

U.S. District Judge James Moody dismissed the lawsuit Tuesday at the request of lawyers for Julia Bishop and Karen Johnson, the mother and grandmother of Charles Bishop.

The boy’s death gained international attention as images were broadcast of the stolen Cessna protruding from the Bank of America Plaza downtown, four months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Inside the plane, Charles left a note sympathetic to Osama bin Laden.

Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., the maker of Accutane, contended Charles was a troubled young man and his use of Accutane was not to blame for his suicide. Court papers filed by the company say the boy’s parents tried to carry out a suicide pact before he was born, and his mother had numerous bouts of depression.

Hoffman-La Roche contends Accutane is safe, but recommends users be screened for depression. The Food and Drug Administration said it has 234 reports of suicide among Accutane users worldwide from 1982 to December 2003.

Hoffman-La Roche Inc., based in Nutley, N.J., is the United States prescription drug unit of the Swiss drug maker Roche Group.

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