Our firm has started multiple suits for women who used Fosamax and unfortunately developed a serious bone disease known as osteonecrosis of the jaw.  Fosamax, made by Merck, is one of several drugs in the bisphosphonate category, all of which have been reported to cause ONJ (osteonecrosis of the jaw).  Two others are the injection drugs Zometa and Aredia, made by Novartis. The drugs cause ONJ by preventing new bone from forming in the jaw. 

There is such a substantial amount of litigation for osteonecrosis of the jaw that the cases have been rounded up for congregation before one judge for Fosamax and one for Zometa and Aredia. The allegations in the cases are that the manufacturers involved had been long aware of the risk of ONJ but delayed in informing prescribing doctors.  There was even a longer delay in notifying dentists about the risk.  This is significant in that dentists in the past unknowingly attempted to treat the ONJ condition, only making it worse.

For the Fosamax litigation, it has been assigned to the Hon. John F. Keenan, In Re Fosamax Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1789. He is coincidentally located in our back yard, the Southern District of New York. He manages the pre-trial discovery which includes Merck revealing important internal documents regarding their knowledge and handling of Fosamax. Further, there will be extensive depositions of Merck employees regarding their knowledge of injuries caused by Fosamax. Merck is very familiar with litigation, notably Vioxx and now Zetia/Vytorin.

Recent medical articles have made it clear that these bisphosphonate drugs tend to last for a very long time in the body.  Hence even if a user stops, there are long-term risks.  If you have been taking these drugs, be sure to adequately warn your dentist of current or prior use. Some recommendations have been that patients be treated only by dental surgeons familiar with bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis.