The Nation - News from Oct. 8, 1986

The Food and Drug Administration said it has approved a new drug for the most virulent forms of the skin disease psoriasis, but the agency warned that women who could become pregnant should not use it. The FDA said the medication, etretinate, can cause major congenital defects, perhaps as long as several years after a woman stops taking it. The drug is chemically related to Vitamin A, which in high doses also can harm unborn children. The FDA will require Hoffman-La Roche Inc., of Nutley, N.J., which will market the drug under the brand name Tegison, to include a boxed warning on the label.