Thanks to Supreme Court decision, Merck gets another chance to throw out Fosamax claims
In a temporary relief for Merck amid ongoing legal drama surrounding its osteoporosis drug Fosamax, the Supreme Court has vacated the judgment of a lower court and directed it to reconsider a ruling that allowed lawsuits to go to trial.
While the justices did not weigh in on the merits of those lawsuits, the decision revives Merck’s hopes of throwing out hundreds of patients claims, which accuse the pharma giant of violating state laws by neglecting to warn them of risks associated with Fosamax for over a decade. Even though scientists had speculated that Fosamax — a bisphosphonate designed to prevent osteoporotic fractures — could increase the risk of atypical femoral fractures before the FDA approved the drug in 1995, the label did not feature a warning on that score. Despite subsequent evidence from patient reports confirming the risk, a warning was not added until 2010 following an order from regulators.
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