Merck Wins Lawsuit despite Fosamax Side Effects Allegations

Whitehouse Station, NJDrugmaker Merck announced that it won another court case against a patient who blamed the company for alleged injuries associated with Fosamax side effects, The Associated Press reported.

The patient who brought the lawsuit against the pharmaceutical giant had claimed Fosamax had caused her to experience problems with her jaw following a regimen of taking the medication, the news outlet reported.

Though the defendant had allegedly experienced problems with her jaw, the jury in New York ruled in the company's favor. The Florida woman was the fourth person that Merck has defeated in court, according to the AP.

This marked the fifth time that the company had been brought to trial due to Fosamax allegedly leading to injuries for patients who were prescribed the medication. In one case, a jury awarded an individual $1.5 million against the pharmaceutical giant, the news source reported.

Though only five cases have gone to trial at this juncture, there are more than 1,600 cases that have been filed and are pending against Merck in either federal or state court.

A rise in the number of filings has occurred since the Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based company's drug was the subject of a study that was published in the Journal of Dental Research. The findings, released in February, detailed how bisphosphonate drugs like Fosamax can lead to osteonecrosis of the jaw, according to the news outlet.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the company would have to face a rise in the number of lawsuits brought against it, as the jaw-destroying condition that was targeted by the lawsuits can cause severe damage in patients.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, osteonecrosis is bone death that is caused by poor blood supply to the affected area. The condition is most common in the hip and shoulder, but it can occur in places like the jaw, knee, elbow, wrist and ankle.

The organization reported that symptoms of osteonecrosis can include limited range of motion, pain at the joint that can become very severe, pain that occurs even at rest and a variety of impaired functions, depending on where it occurs.