N.J. Federal Judge: Fosamax MDL Claims Based on Use Prior to Label Change Preempted

TRENTON, N.J. — The judge overseeing the Fosamax MDL has ruled that claims brought by plaintiffs whose atypical femur fracture injuries occurred before the Fosamax label was changed to warn of such risks are federally preempted because the FDA denied Merck & Co.’s previous attempts to enhance the warning label.

On March 26, Judge Joel Pisano of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey held that the court’s preemption ruling in bellwether case Glynn v. Merck & Co. cuts across all pre-label change cases in this MDL, and that plaintiffs have failed to show cause why their …