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Bellwether Fosomax trial starts today
In drug liability litigation, the first case to come to trial always is closely watched. Lawyers, plaintiffs and companies alike want to know their opponents' strategies. And perhaps most importantly, they want to know how jurors respond to testimony. The inaugural trial in Merck's defense of its Fosamax bone drug is no exception.
Merck faces some 900 lawsuits over claims that the drug causes a painful and irreversible decay of the jawbone. In this first case, Shirley Boles, 71, claims that Fosamax caused her osteonecrosis of the jaw--essentially, death of jawbone tissue--and that Merck knew about the risks as early as 1996. The company should have warned patients and doctors earlier than it did, Boles alleges.
Merck and other makers of bisphosphonates changed the drugs' labeling in 2005 to warn about the risks. But Boles' lawyer says Merck didn't use the label language requested by the FDA as the other companies did. For its part, Merck says it acted appropriately and provided the proper information. And the company disputes the idea that Fosamax causes the condition. "We're going to demonstrate that there's no causal link between Fosamax and the plaintiff's injury," a Merck lawyer told Bloomberg. "There isn't any scientifically reliable evidence of causation." We'll see what the court thinks.
- read the Bloomberg piece
Related Articles:
Study links Fosamax to jawbone problems
FDA calls 'all clear' on bone meds (2008)
Bisphosphonates may weaken bones (2008)
Safety questions on Fosamax, Actos, et al. (2008)
Comments
Fosamax, A Bad Drug In Litigation by Jeffrey Dach MD
Bisphosphonates drugs like Fosamax have severe adverse side effects of jaw necrosis (OJN), spontaneous femur fracture, atrial fibrillation (a heart rhythm disturbance), and severe bone and joint pain. Another common adverse effect is esophageal erosion, heartburn and esophageal reflux.
Fosamax is a "bad drug" that should be banned.
Click Here for More:
http://jeffreydach.com/2009/08/31/fosamax-in-bad-drug-litigation-by-jeffrey-dach-md.aspx
Jeffrey Dach MD
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954-983-1443
http://www.jeffreydach.com/
My mother has just had surgery to replace bone loss on three jaw bone teeth. She has been on Fosomax for awhile now. She has really been through so much pain and now the surgery and it has been hard on her at her age. She is 82. What should she do about it.Her dentist knew she was taking Fosomax and didn't say a word to her about the dangers of this medication. We only found out today when when went online and were really surprised at what we found. She is still having pain even though her doctor said the surgery would solve the problem . Her surgery was this past week. Please tell us what we can do.
I saw the news report on ABC news last week.The reason I stopped on the station was fosamax came on the tv,beings I take fosamax I was interested.
The Friday(Feb.26,2010)I had a fall in a movie theater,just missed a step.The result was breaking my left femur.I landed on my right side.
911 was called,I left by ambulance and the next morning I had surgery to repair the femur.
I had had soreness in the left thigh muscle for sometime before,thinking I needed to excercise.
In the report it mentioned pain in the leg before had.Am interested in more info.Thank you Linda
We really need to know if Foxomax, Boniva, all the Bone Drugs are worth the risk associated with the side effects, In long term use, they can cause Jaw Problems, And Broken Bones, Because the Drugs build bone mass on old bones, Not replaceing the mass. causing cartalige loss on old bones, Making them more brittle, Would they be effective in short term use, Say one year, If Bone Mass increases, Then go Off. I think the problem is long term use, What needs to be done, Is to see how they work on shorter term use, Do some tests, on short term use, To see if you get the same results as long term use, And how much improvement are the Doxy scan Tests showing after long term use, Is it worth a life of pain and risks. of the side effects of these drugs.
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