Fosamax Merck.... Here we go again.
It always starts as a rumor and it always seems to be Merck
Merck has won its first 2 cases in defense of Fosamax and has
over 900 cases pending.
Study: Bone-strengthening drugs could backfire
March 10: Two small studies suggest that a small percentage of patients who use certain drugs to prevent bone loss for more than five years could be at greater risk for a rare type of hip fracture. NBC's Robert Bazell reports.
Nightly News
then there is a little article here and a little there.
No link between bone drug, fractures
FDA: Women taking Fosamax not at increased risk
Video
reuters
updated 9:56 a.m. PT, Thurs., March. 11, 2010
BOSTON - U.S. regulators said they have found no link between oral bisphosphonate osteoporosis medications such as Merck & Co Inc.'s Fosamax and certain thigh bone fractures.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued its statement Wednesday following the publication of case reports of atypical subtrochanteric femur fractures — or fractures in the bone just below the hip joint — in women with osteoporosis using oral bisphosphonates.
Why would women who take a bone drug start having strange and bazaar things happen to their bones?
One Group has the femur bone break with little or no pressure.
(this is the largest bone in the body)
The other group has their jaw bone die .
(onj)osteonecrosis of the jaw
Merck has more lawyers, lobbyists and money than they know what to do with and will take you to court if you even start to think what you are thinking.
What we need to know is.
How many are taking or have taken these drugs ?
How many are having problems they think are connected to these drugs?
Fosamax Causes Osteonecrosis Of The Jaw
Fosamax Causes Osteonecrosis Of The Jaw
The verdict is in on the bellwether Fosamax case and a New York jury has awarded $8 million in damages ($3 million more than the suit had requested) to plaintiff Shirley Boles, a woman who suffered osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) from side effects of Fosamax use. The jury decided that Fosamax was a defectively designed product, and returned the increased award.
This verdict is a win for consumers and paves the way for over 900 cases claiming osteonecrosis of the jaw caused by Fosamax. Unfortunately, due to the drugs cumulative negative effects when taken for over three years, individuals will continue to develop osteonecrosis of the jaw.
Fosamax Caused Her ONJ
The plaintiff, 72-year-old Shirley Boles, is a retired deputy from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office who testified that her doctor prescribed Fosamax when she suffered a stress fracture in her foot. Eventually, problems developed in her mouth and then she developed osteonecrosis of the jaw caused by Fosamax.
Boles claims that Merck knew of the risks as early as 1996. She alleges that the company should have warned patients and doctors earlier than it did. Several manufacturers of bisphosphonates, including Merck, changed the drug’s labeling in 2005 to include a revised warning about the risks associated with their use.
Bole’s lawyer alleges that Merck didn’t use the correct label language, as the other companies did, as requested by the FDA. Merck asserts that it acted correctly and provided the required information. The company disputes the idea that Fosamax causes osteonecrosis of the jaw.
"We’re going to demonstrate that there’s no causal link between Fosamax and the plaintiff’s injury," a Merck lawyer told Bloomberg last year. "There isn’t any scientifically reliable evidence of causation." We’ll see what the court thinks.
The turning point in the case may have come last September when the judge rejected Merck’s request to dismiss 24 cases alleging that its Fosamax drug treatment for osteoporosis causes jaw damage. Judge Keenan instead ruled that the plaintiffs could introduce testimony by two expert doctors to show that the drug can cause jaw damage after less than three years of continuous use.
Osteonecrosis Of The Jaw Symptoms
Keenan’s ruling said he could find no basis for restricting the "general causation" testimony of the two doctor experts, Alastair Goss and John Hellstein. Some of the warning signs of osteonecrosis of the jaw are:
■Pain in the Jaw
■Loose teeth
■Infection in the gums or jaw
■Gums that heal poorly
■Numbness or heaviness in the jaw
■Jaw bone exposed in the mouth
Judge Keenan found that the evidence was reliable enough to allow a jury to establish a rational connection between the damage and the cause of the damage. He then said each plaintiff will be allowed to present expert testimony that it was the Fosamax treatment that caused them to suffer the same damage. Keenan also said that such testimony could by itself "make causation a genuine issue of fact for trial." In light of this finding Merck may find itself in a difficult to defend position
Fosamax Causes Osteonecrosis Of The Jaw