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Merck shares fall due to Fosamax lawsuits |
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Wednesday, 12 April 2006 |
Word that lawyers had filed another Fosamax lawsuit against Merck & Co. caused the company’s stock to fall 1.2% in trading on Wall Street yesterday. Merck is the manufacturer of the osteoporosis drug.
The lawsuit, filed by Fosamax lawyers in Fort Myers, Florida, alleges that Merck continued to sell and market Fosamax despite the fact that in knew the drug could be dangerous. Fosamax has been linked with a condition known as osteonecrosis of the jaw, or jaw necrosis, which can cause the death of jawbone tissue. Similar claims were made in a Fosamax lawsuit was filed last Fall in Tennessee.
Problems with Fosamax were first noticed by doctors in 2001, when physicians began to notice an increased number of cases of jaw necrosis among patients taking bisphosphonates, a class of osteoporosis drugs which includes Fosamax. Doctors initially thought that only cancer patients taking high dose injections of Fosamax were at risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw. However, later research has revealed that patients taking the drug orally may also face an increased risk of Fosamax side effects.
Osteonecrosis of the jaw can cause the death of jawbone tissue as a result of decreased blood flow to that area of the body. This side effect of Fosamax is often uncovered during dental work and can be extremely painful. Many of the patients who developed jaw necrosis have filed Fosamax lawsuits against Merck. |