Despite monitoring and risks, many still become pregnant while on acne drug

The acne drug isotretinoin — formerly sold as Accutane — is known to cause miscarriages and birth defects. But a new study finds that many women on the drug still become pregnant. Looking through the FDA’s adverse event reporting system, researchers found that between 1997 and 2017, more than 6,700 women became pregnant while taking isotretinoin, and some 11% of these pregnancies ended in miscarriages. The year with the highest number of pregnancies — 768 — was 2006. That same year, the FDA mandated a program known an iPledge to make women aware of the drug’s risks and require them to take contraceptives or vow abstinence. The rate of women on isotretinoin getting pregnant then dropped by more than half by 2010, although other factors — including the use of IUDs and other long-term contraceptives — could have contributed to the dip in pregnancies.