In September 2004, the Food and Drug Administration issued a Fosamax warning about the link between the bisphosphonate drug and osteonecrosis of the jaw, a painful condition which can cause the death of jawbone tissue.

The FDA’s Fosamax warning was prompted by a study in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

The study examined the cases of 63 patients who were diagnosed with jaw necrosis after receiving a bisphosphonate drug like Fosamax.

Although some of the patients in the study were cancer patients who had received the drug through an injection, more than one in 10 had taken the drug in the form of a pill.
 

Fosamax side effects confirmed 

This risk of Fosamax side effects was confirmed in a 2006 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, which examined the cases of nearly 400 people who had developed osteonecrosis of the jaw after taking Fosamax or a similar drug.

The study’s authors concluded that the risk of jaw necrosis for cancer patients receiving the drug intravenously was between 6-10%.
 

Still no warning of osteonecrosis on Fosamax information sheet 

Despite these studies, the information sheet given to patients who are prescribed Fosamax still contains no warnings about the risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw from taking Fosamax.

Many patients who developed jaw necrosis have filed Fosamax lawsuits against Merck, alleging that they were never warned about the risk of Fosamax side effects before they began taking the drug.

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