Merck & Co., Inc. Scores a Partial Win in Fosamax Litigation

No, Merck has not won another Fosamax trial. But a federal judge has tossed part of a so-called bellwether lawsuit against the drugmaker over its osteoporosis drug, which has been blamed for causing a type of jaw damage known as osteonecrosis in which tissue is severely damaged. In his ruling, US District Court Judge John Keenan decided to allow Linda Secrest to pursue a claim that Fosamax suffered from a design defect that caused her jawbone tissue to die. But the former United Airlines flight attendant, who lives in Florida and used the drug from 1998 to 2005, cannot pursue punitive damages or a claim that Merck failed to warn of possible problems with its drug.