Merck Sharp and Dohme receives lawsuits for Fosamax

Merck Sharp and Dohme, or Merck as it is known in the US, will soon have to defend itself from lawsuits filed by patients using Fosamax, the company’s second biggest seller.

The company already faces over 11,000 lawsuits the families of Vioxx patients after the drug was found to cause an increased risk of strokes and cardiovascular complications.

A small number of Fosamax patients have reported osteonecrosis of the jaw, which means part of the jawbone dies and crumbles.

One lawyer in the US told the Los Angeles Times he was getting calls every day from Fosamax patients.

Another lawyer, Edward Weltman, who specialises in lawsuits with drug makers, commented: “It’s too early to tell whether these cases will be successful. But as soon as there is publicity about any kind of possible problems with a medication, the plaintiffs get geared up.”

In May, Merck said that osteonecrosis of the jaw could be caused by a “number of reasons” and added that although it had seen most cases occur in “cancer patients treated with biphosphonates”, some of the symptoms had been reported before in patients with “post-menopausal osteoporosis and other diagnoses”.

Fosamax is used in the treatment of osteoporosis. The patent for Fosamax is set to expire in 2008 in the US. Merck has not so far been successful in extending the patent.

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