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Fosamax News

We have compiled the latest news on Fosamax side effects and related litigation. If you or a loved one has been injured by Fosamax and you would like more information on litigation against the manufacturer, please contact us.

Merck Hit With $8 Million Verdict in Fosamax Trial
fosamax lawsuit
The Associated Press | June 25, 2010
Drugmaker Merck & Co. was hit Friday with an $8 million jury verdict in the case of a Florida woman who says Merck's osteoporosis drug destroyed her jaw bone—the company's first loss of a Fosamax trial.
FDA Will Review Fosamax for Safety
 
The Wall Street Journal | March 11, 2010

The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it's conducting a safety review of certain bone-building drugs like Fosamax and Boniva to see if they increase the risk of femur fractures.

The agency said it was looking at reports about whether there's an increased risk of atypical subtrochanteric femur fractures—fractures in the bone just below the hip joint—in some patients who've been on the drugs for several years.

High Stakes for Merck in Litigation on Fosamax
 
The New York Times | September 3, 2009

Drug executives, product liability lawyers and Wall Street analysts are closely watching a jury trial in New York over medical problems associated with Fosamax, a drug from Merck that has been taken by millions of women to offset the bone loss associated with menopause.

It is the first of about 900 state and federal cases pending against Merck in which plaintiffs claim that taking Fosamax caused them to develop a rare problem called osteonecrosis of the jaw. Dental surgery is one of the triggers for the condition that can break down jawbone tissue, causing the gums to fall away and expose bone that looks moth-eaten, oral surgeons said.

Will Side Effect Reports Scare Fosamax Patients?
 
ABC News | January 1, 2009

The end of 2008 was not kind to the osteoporosis drug Fosamax.

The first blow to the medication came Wednesday evening, with the release of a letter in the New England Journal of Medicine, citing a finding by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that 23 cases of esophageal cancer, possibly linked to the use of the drug, have been seen since Fosamax's 1995 market debut.

The second came just seven hours later with the release of a study in the Journal of the American Dental Association suggesting that a condition known as osteonecrosis of the jaw—in which the bone in the jaw dies off—may be more common than thought in people taking osteoporosis drugs in the same class as Fosamax.

Report Links Fosamax to Esophagus Cancer
ABC News Medical Unit | December 31, 2008

There could be some worrying news for the tens of millions of Americans currently taking Fosamax.

A brief report published today in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests a possible link between the osteoporosis drug and the development of esophageal cancer.

Fosamax Lawsuit Brings Risks to Light

 

The Salt Lake Tribune | June 20, 2006

Pamela Hines went from an active lifestyle of running five miles a day and working full-time to being unable to eat most foods and feeling constant pain.

The 52-year-old Sandy woman was diagnosed last year with osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), a disfiguring condition that leads to the breakdown of the jawbone and loss of teeth. After having a tooth extracted, she became deeply concerned when her mouth failed to heal. After visiting several doctors, one told her she might have ONJ—and that is could be linked to her taking the popular osteoporosis drug Fosamax, for stronger bones.

Bone-Building Drugs Linked to Bone-Rotting Side Effect
 
The Star-Ledger | June 13, 2006

Michael Erlichman walked into his dental office last week and encountered a patient with an unusual but growing problem.

An elderly woman was complaining about soreness caused by her dentures, but there was nothing Erlichman could do to relieve her pain. That's because she suffers from a rare jawbone disease that is increasingly being linked to a group of drugs for osteoporosis and cancer. And he noted she'd been taking one of those drugs for several years.

Fosamax Is Newly Linked to Jaw Disease
fosamax and jaw disease
New York Times | June 2, 2006<

In the last 10 years, millions of patients have taken a class of drugs that can prevent agonizing broken and deteriorating bones. The drugs once seemed perfectly safe and have tranformed life for patients with cancer or osteoporosis.

But recently there have been reports of a serious side effect: death of areas of bone in the jaw.

Louisville Woman Suing Makers of Fosamax
 
NBC Wave 3 | May 18, 2006

A Louisville woman is now suing the drug manufacturer of Fosamax, Merck, after doctors blame the drug for basically rotting her jawbone, with no warning. Thousands of other people are making the same claims.

Fosamax, Merck's Other Drug Problem
CNN | May 9, 2006

Merck, already in a long fight against thousands of Vioxx lawsuits, will soon face a two-front war, as plaintiffs begin to file suit over a different drug: Fosamax.

Merck, the No. 2 U.S. drugmaker, will soon face a federal court lawsuit from a Naples, Florida woman who blames the osteoporosis treatment for the necrosis that rotted her mouth and exposed bone in her jaw. Linda Secrest, 60, who took Fosamax for six years, filed the lawsuit April 10 in Fort Myers, Florida. She accuses Merck of withholding information about the drug's health risks.

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Your Legal Rights

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with osteonecrosis of the jaw following use of Fosamax, you may be entitled to compensation.

You should act immediately to contact a lawyer experienced in matters involving dangerous pharmaceuticals.