WHITEHOUSE STATION (dpa-AFX) - Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) said Monday a jury ruled in its favor in a trial involving a plaintiff, who complained she suffered an atypical femur fracture following the use of Fosamax.
Fosamax was approved as a safe and effective medication by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1995 and is still approved today for multiple indications, including the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.
The case, Glynn v. Merck case, was heard in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Judge Joel Pisano presided over the trial.
At trial, Merck presented evidence that Fosamax did not cause the plaintiff's fracture, and that the company acted responsibly in researching and developing the drug and in monitoring the medicine since it has been on the market.
The company's clinical trials, conducted both before and following approval, have involved more than 28,000 patients, including more than 17,000 treated with Fosamax.
This is the ninth Fosamax case to go to trial and the second case to be tried where the plaintiff alleged she sustained a femur fracture in association with the use of the drug. The first case alleging a femur fracture injury resulted in a mistrial.
All of the seven other trials involved allegations associated with jaw-related problems. Merck won five of those seven prior trials. Among the two losses, the company is appealing the jury verdict in Boles v. Merck and has filed a post-trial motion for judgment as a matter of law in Scheinberg v. Merck.
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