Merck Proposes Paying $28M To Settle Fosamax Jaw Bone Suits

Three months ago, a federal judge ordered hundreds of lawsuits charging a Merck drug called Fosamax caused osteonecrosis, which is a painful death of jawbone tissue, to be dispersed to courts around the country for trial (back story). The move seems to have had the desired effect. Yesterday, Merck proposed paying nearly $28 million to settle 1,140 pending lawsuits. “We hope to bring this to a successful conclusion," PaulStrain, a lawyer for Merck, said at a hearing in federal court in Manhattan before Judge John Keenan, who has presided over mushrooming litigation and would have to approve the settlement. The drugmaker noted that the proposal, which covers about 1,200 people, requires 100 percent participation, according to Reuters. The move comes after a series of so-called bellwether cases, which go to trial as a means of gauging the potential outcome of a large batch of similarly filed lawsuits. To date, Merck (MRK)  has prevailed in three of five cases. Earlier this year, a jury voted the drugmaker should pay one plaintiff $285,000 and Merck lost an earlier trial in which a plaintiff was awarded $8 million, although that was reduced to $1.5 million (see page 19 of this SEC filing). A settlement proposal was not surprising actually, given that a recent attempt at mediation failed, which prompted Keenan to remand or transfer hundreds of cases in a bid to force the legal teams to find their own resolution. Without such an agreement, Merck would otherwise face the prospect...
Source: Pharmalot - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs