The Fosamax Examiner
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Last week, a jury in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida found that the manufacturer of the intravenous bisphosphonate Zometa failed to adequately warn of the risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw (“ONJ”) resulting from use of the drug. The jury also concluded that Zometa caused J.
Attorney Tim O'Brien of the Levin Papantonio law firm secures decisive jury verdict in a jawbone injury trial.
View article here http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/05/merck-fosamax-idUSL1N0B5BWT20130205?irpc=43
By Martha Rosenberg, OpEdNews
December 2nd, 2012
As early as 2004, Merck knew its blockbuster osteoporosis drug Fosamax was causing osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) after in-office dental procedures and ridiculed afflicted patients. The condition, also called jawbone death, occurs when traumatized tissue doesn’t heal but becomes “necrotic” and dies. “Ma toot hurts so bad” mimicked Merck bone scientist Don Kimmel in a 2004 email to Merck health science consultant Sharon Scurato about the type of patient who was developing ONJ. Such a patient “could be an oral hog,” wrote Kimmel, then a bone scientist in Merck’s department of Molecular Endocrinology/Bone Biology and trained as a dentist–someone with pre-existing infections and periodontal disease who omits preventative care.
By Farron Cousins
October 31st, 2012 3:00pm
On September 9, 2011, a joint FDA Advisory Committee voted overwhelmingly, 17 to 6, to recommend that the United States Food & Drug Administration include stronger warnings on bisphosphonate drugs, such as Fosamax. The proposed and requested warnings would emphasize the lack of long-term fracture reduction benefit from Fosamax.
Levin Papantonio continues to actively participate in litigating cases involving atypical femur fractures in long-term bisphosphonate users. The term “atypical femur fracture” is used to describe a fracture of either the mid-shaft or subtrochanteric regions of the femur. There is a growing body of medical literature linking these fractures to the long-term use of bisphosphonates such as Fosamax, Actonel, and Boniva.
Levin, Papantonio shareholder Tim O'Brien informs the Fosamax Examiner that closing arguments are set for Tuesday, April 17, in the New Jersey Fosamax bellwether trial in the case of Jo Ann Sessner vs. Merck & Co.. The case involves the claim of a Florida Fosamax patient who developed Stage 3 bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw after more than six years of Fosamax use.
