The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation issued on order on February 3, that all federally filed lawsuits which claim femur fractures by individuals taking both Reclast and Fosamax, or Boniva and Fosamax, or all three drugs, will be consolidated with Fosamax only lawsuits, which were consolidated under Judge Garrett E. Brown in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey as part of multidistrict litigation, or MDL.
The Judicial Panel decided that even though they are three separate medications manufactured by three separate entities, there are common questions of fact that justify case consolidation. Specifically, the JMPL order stated, “Although most of the presently centralized actions involve questions of fact arising from allegations that the use of Fosamax or its generic equivalent alone caused femur fractures or similar bone injuries, plaintiffs in at least five of the centralized actions allege that they suffered femur fractures as a result of their use of either Fosamax and Reclast or Fosamax and Boniva.” Fosamax, manufactured by Merck, is the most commonly used bisphosphonate in the United States for the treatment of osteoporosis.
Fosamax, Reclast, and Boniva all belong in class of drugs known as bisphosphonates, and are designed to prevent bone loss that can occur during menopause as osteoporosis. On occasion, Fosamax was prescribed for a condition known as osteopenia, a term used to describe possible early onset of osteoporosis (see my blog from August 2011 regarding “osteopenia”). However, the FDA imposed new warnings regarding bisphosphonates and the link between long-term use and an increased risk of atypical femur fractures. The warning says that consumers should seek medical attention as soon as they experience groin or thigh pain while taking the drugs, which can sometimes signal a forthcoming thigh bone fracture, which often occurs with little to no trauma. Some patients say that their bone fractures occurred while doing limited physical activity, such as walking down the stairs or even the sidewalk.
Reclast is manufactured by Novartis as a once-a-year injectable medication. Boniva is manufactured by Roche as a once-a-month oral medication, and Fosamax is a weekly, daily, or monthly oral tablet or solution manufactured by Merck.
Pittman, Dutton & Hellums is currently investigating claims for those people who have taken bisphosphonates, including Fosamax, and have been injured. If you would like a free case evaluation, please contact Booth Samuels at toll free 1-866-515-8880 or booths@pittmandutton.com.
