More Bellwether Fosamax Cases to Go to Trial

New York, NYAlthough there have been mixed results in lawsuits concerning Fosamax, another bellwether trial is expected to go to court in 2011. So far, lawsuits concerning Fosamax side effects have produced unpredictable results, with one lawsuit resulting in a mistrial. Among serious Fosamax side effects are Fosamax osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ).

The first Fosamax lawsuit, Boles v. Merck, resulted in a mistrial when the jury could not reach a verdict. After a second trial, the jury awarded Ms. Boles $8 million dollars; however, the judge, who upheld the verdict, reduced the jury's award to $1.5 million. Boles has reportedly decided to appeal the reduction rather than accept the judge's decision.

In the next two lawsuits, the case was dismissed from court. In one lawsuit, the judge found that experts could not prove the plaintiff's ONJ was caused by Fosamax, and in the other, the jury found that the plaintiff did not have ONJ.

The fourth lawsuit was that of Graves v. Merck, which went to court in November 2010. According to The New York Times (11/10/10), Graves developed ONJ after taking Fosamax. After developing ONJ, Graves reportedly required five major surgeries, including one in which her broken jaw was replaced with bone from her left arm.

Merck defended itself, saying Graves was on other medications that weakened her immune system, which allowed the infection to set in. The jury found for Merck and dismissed the lawsuit.

In addition to ONJ, there are other side effects reportedly linked to Fosamax. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an advisory that bisphosphonates—a class of drug that includes Fosamax—are linked to rare thigh bone fractures. Those fractures include fractures just beneath the hip joint and fractures in the thigh. The FDA further announced that although it is not clear that the bisphosphonates caused the bone fractures, there is no known optimal period for using the medications.

Part of the issue is that some doctors may have prescribed medications like Fosamax before patients developed osteoporosis to prevent the condition from developing later. Patients who are prescribed Fosamax at a younger age are therefore put on the drug for a longer time, possibly putting them at higher risk of breaking bones.

In September, the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published a news release from the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (09/14/10) warning that a study of 310 cases of atypical femur fractures found that more than 90 percent of study participants had taken bisphosphonates. Many of those patients had taken the bisphosphonates for more than five years.

Patients who are taking bisphosphonates and experience thigh or groin pain should speak with their doctors.