Merck Knew of Fosamax Jaw Death Dangers

Documents have recently surfaced that may prove that Merck knew as early as 2004 that Fosamax was tied to ONJ (osteonecrosis of the jaw) in which the bones in the jaw begin to decay. Instead of showing any concern about Fosamax ONJ, Merck instead began to ridicule those who claimed that they were experiencing osteonecrosis. Furthermore, they attributed the decaying jawbones to bad oral hygiene as well as the age of the patients. One employee went so far as to mock the patients stating: “Ma toot hurts so bad.”

No concern – or surprise – was shown when the studies began to reveal the Fosamax ONJ side effects that thousands of people were experiencing. Instead of addressing the concern, Merck chose instead to proceed with a new marketing tactic to promote the sales of Fosamax, as it was providing $3 billion dollars a year in revenue for the Pharmaceutical giant.

Safety Data Withheld by Merck

To further complicate matters, Merck withheld information from American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR). The group sought out Merck for help in developing a positioning paper. Merck “helped” by providing only 50 of 428 suspected complaints – 378 of these were highly likely to actually be Fosamax ONJ. This means that critical data was withheld without any explanation as to why the information about pending Fosamax injury lawsuits and complaints were not being disclosed.

One of Merck’s bone scientists, Don Kimmel – the same person who made the joke “Ma toot hurts so bad” – appeared to be confused while testifying under oath. He stated that he never worked with a researcher by the name of Jack Gotcher. When shown a study that had both participants name on it, admitted that they had worked together. Kimmel adamantly denied agreeing with Gotcher’s results that bisphosphonates given to rats caused ONJ in the rodents.

Seeking Help with Fosamax Side Effects

This information certainly doesn’t help Merck’s defense strategy in terms of pending Fosamax lawsuits. As a matter of fact, slides presented on Fosamax jaw death that were created by Kimmel also show his opinion on ONJ as a whole with text that says “Ooooh! Ickkkkk! Yuckkk! It’s ONJ.”