Femur Fracture Lawsuits Over Fosamax and Boniva, Reclast Sent to MDL

Lawsuits filed in federal court by individuals who allege that they suffered a femur fracture after taking a both Fosamax and Boniva, Fosamax and Reclast, or all three bisphosphonate drugs, will be consolidated with hundreds of other complaints filed by plaintiffs who were only taking Fosamax, according to a recent order by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

Last year, all Fosamax lawsuits over low-impact femur fractures were consolidated for pretrial proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey before Judge Garrett E. Brown as part of an MDL, or multidistrict litigation.

Fosamax, Boniva and Reclast are three different medications that are part of the same class of drugs, known as bisphosphonates, which are designed to prevent loss of bone made and treat postmenopausal osteoporosis. However, long-term use of bisphosphonate medications have been linked to an increased risk of atypical femur fractures, which often occur with little or no trauma at all.

In October 2010, the FDA required new warnings about the risk of bone fractures from Fosamax and other bisphosphonate medications. As a result, consumers are now warned that they should seek immediate medical attention if they experience new groin pain or thigh pain while taking the drug, which can occur weeks or months before a complete thigh bone fracture may occur.

According to an order issued by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on February 3, a lawsuit filed by Theresa Thomas-Walsh, who alleges that she suffered right and left femur fractures from her use of Fosamax, Boniva and Reclast, will be transferred to the Fosamax fracture MDL.

At least five other lawsuits are already centralized in the Fosamax fracture MDL involving individuals who allegedly suffered broken femurs from use of either Fosamax and Reclast or Fosamax and Boniva. The MDL panel concluded that there are sufficient common questions of law and fact to justify the consolidation of the cases as part of the MDL.

Fosamax (alendronate sodium) is the most commonly used bisphosphonate medication in the United States, which was introduced by Merck in 1995. The medication generated over $3 billion in annual sales before it became available as a generic in 2008.

Boniva (ibandronate sodium), which is manufactured by Roche, was approved in 2005 as a once-monthly treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis, generating sales of approximately $975 million in 2010.

Reclast (zoledronic acid) is an injectable medication manufactured by Novartis, which was approved in 2007 as a once-a-year osteoporosis treatment, generating approximately $580 million in sales in 2010.