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Fosamax, a bisphosphonate drug manufactured by Merck; gained FDA approval on September 29, 1995. It generated three billion dollars of revenue for Merck in 2006. In 2004, the FDA and Merck, as well as the manufacturers of other bisphosphonates, updated the drugs labels to warn about osteonecrosis of the jawbone. In Osteonecrosis of the jawbone, parts of the jawbone rot and may fail to heal following oral surgery or dental work.

On June 25, 2010, a jury awarded $8 million in compensatory damages to a Florida woman who sued Merck & Co, alleging the company’s osteoporosis drug Fosamax damaged her jaw, nine months after the first lawsuit ended in a mistrial.

The plaintiff sued Merck in 2006, claiming she suffered dental and jaw problems because she took Fosamax from 1997 to 2006.

A month-long trial in Manhattan federal court in August and September last year was Merck’s first out of some 1,280 plaintiff groups involving almost 900 U.S. lawsuits by patients who claim Fosamax caused the condition known as osteonecrosis of the jaw, or death of jawbone

On January 29, 2010, a Manhattan federal judge refused to reject a lawsuit alleging that Merck & Co Inc’s osteoporosis drug Fosamax caused jaw damage to an Indiana woman during the nearly eight years she took the pill. According to a Reuters report, Merck submitted a motion seeking to dismiss all claims filed by the Indiana plaintiff. The trial is scheduled to begin on April 19, 2010.

U.S. District Judge John Keenan described the case involving the plaintiff Louise Maley, as one of the “bellwether” trials in nationwide litigation over Fosamax, which has spawned close to 900 lawsuits. The judge is handling many of the cases.

Keenan in November dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Fosamax causes jaw damage, two months after a jury deadlock led to a mistrial in a similar case.

Fosamax is part of the bisphosphonate family of osteoporosis drugs that include Procter & Gamble Co’s Actonel and Roche Holding AG’s Boniva. This class of drugs is designed to prevent bone fractures and help offset bone loss associated with menopause. Fosamax has been linked to Osteonecrosis of the Jawbone, which overtime the bone tissue in the jaw roots and dies.

On September 9, 2009, a Manhattan federal judge rejected Merck & Co’s effort to dismiss twenty four cases alleging that its Fosamax drug treatment for osteoporosis causes jaw damage. U.S. District Judge John Keenan ruled that the plaintiffs could introduce testimony by two doctors to show that the drug can cause jaw damage after less than three years of continuous use.

Keenan said the evidence is sufficiently reliable to allow a rational jury to establish such a connection. He said individual plaintiffs will then be allowed to present expert testimony that Fosamax caused them to suffer such damage, and that such testimony could by itself “make causation a genuine issue of fact for trial.”

Merck faces a slew of lawsuits involving almost 900 cases by patients who say Fosamax caused osteonecrosis of the jaw. A Manhattan jury is deliberating this week over the drug company’s potential liability in one such case.

Fosamax belongs to the bisphosphonate family of osteoporosis drugs that include Procter & Gamble Co’s Actonel and Roche Holding AG’s Boniva. Merck says Fosamax prevents bone fractures, especially in post-menopausal women, by helping to increase bone mineral density.