Fosamax legal matters erode Merck’s fortunes on Wall Street
Shares in Merck fell 1.2% in early trading on Wall Street yesterday amid reports that Fosamax lawyers were taking yet another run at the company.
Lawyers filed suit in Fort Myers, Florida, alleging that Merck had marketed and sold Fosamax, a treatment for osteoporosis, although it knew the drug had been associated with a rare disease which can cause patients’ jawbones to rot and die. This follows upon a similar case last fall when a Fosamax lawsuit was filed in Knoxville, Tennessee against the pharmaceutical giant.
As early as 2001, dentists had begun to notice a link between patients taking bisphosphonates, the family of drugs to which Fosamax belongs, and osteonecrosis of the jaw—also known as ONJ. At first, they thought that the problem pertained only to cancer sufferers who took a very potent version of Fosamax to stop tumors that were eating away at healthy bone material.
Fosamax lawyers will seek to prove that Merck engaged in the same aggressive marketing techniques for Fosamax as it did for Vioxx. The drug generated some $3.2 billion in revenues last year.
Merck issued a press release saying that the cause of osteonecrosis of the jaw was still not fully understood and that it might be something other than a Fosamax side effect. The company added that after discussions with the FDA, in July 2005 it had inserted two paragraphs of extra precautions for doctors.