Merck’s Fosamax under scrutiny

As Merck is currently facing over 11,000 lawsuits over Vioxx’s alleged health risks, which include it causing heart attacks, attention has also been turned to another one of its drugs – Fosamax.

Fosamax is used in the treatment of osteoporosis. However, a woman who used the treatment for six years is blaming it for osteonecrosis, which wasted her mouth and exposed her jaw bone, reports CNN.

Tim O’Brien, a lawyer for the claimant in the case, told CNN that defending the Fosamax case may be more problematic for Merck that lawsuits involving Vioxx. He states that the pharmaceutical firm will have “significant problems” in defending the case.

“[By] saying something else in the woman’s past caused jaw necrosis, because so few things cause it,” Mr O’Brien explained.

Nevertheless, some are more positive about the situation. Barbara Ryan, analyst for Deutsche Bank North America, told CNN that although “anybody could sue” it appears as though the number of cases are small, adding “I don’t think it’s a good thing, but I don’t think it poses a significant financial risk to Merck”.

Merck itself states that the osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) could be caused by a “number of reasons”. In a statement last month the firm said that although most cases occur in “cancer patients treated with intravenous bisphosphonates”, it has been reported in “postmenopausal osteoporosis and other diagnoses”.

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