Researcher With Financial Interest In Bisphosphonates Verifies Increased Risk Of Atypical Femur Fractures With Bisphosphonates Like Fosamax, Reclast

A researcher with financial ties to a company that hopes to commercialize a bisphosphonate product (and to which he holds the patent) has confirmed that bisphosphonates like Fosamax and Reclast increase the risk of an atypical femur fracture. (what is a femoral shaft fracture?) Bisphosphonates are a class of osteoporosis drugs—including the very-popular drug Fosamax—that have been linked to increased risk of bone breaks like femur fractures as well as other potential Fosamax injuries.

The study, published on May 5, 2011 in the New England Journal of Medicine (“NEJM”), found that the increased risk of an “atypical” fracture in bisphosphonate-using women 55 and older was "higher with an increasing duration of bisphosphonate use, with an odds ratio of 1.3 . . . per 100 prescribed daily doses. This risk was approximately 10 times as high as a normal level of risk within the first 2 years of use and 50 times as high thereafter.”

Dr. Per Aspenberg and his associates conducted the study on 1,234 women 55 years and older who suffered from a femoral shaft fracture.

Dr. Aspenberg admitted in his disclosure form to the NEJM to “receiving consulting fees from [drug manufacturer] Eli Lilly and Amgen and grant support to his institution, Linköping University, from Eli Lilly and Amgen, as well as holding stock in AddBIO, a company trying to commercialize a method for bisphosphonate coating of implants to be inserted in bone, and holding a patent for this method.” Eli Lilly is not a current bisphosphonate manufacturer.

Common Bisphosphonates and their manufacturers include:

·       Fosamax (Merck & Company).

·       Boniva (Roche and GlaxoSmithKline) 

·       Actonel (Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi Pharmaceuticals).

·       Skelid (Sanofi Pharmaceuticals)

·       Didronel (Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals)

·       Reclast and Zometa (Novartis Pharmaceuticals)

The Spangenberg law firm has provided information on potential Fosamax lawsuits at www.my-fosamax-lawsuit.com. The website provides information on Fosamax femur fractures and other possibly Fosamax-related injuries. The Spangenberg law firm can also be reached at 1-877-696-3303.

Do Men Suffer From Fosamax-Related Injuries?

Men suffer from osteoporosis and were prescribed Fosamax, not just women.  In fact, as the International Osteoporosis Foundation lists the following statistics about men and osteoporosis:

•  About 20-25% of hip fractures occur in men. The overall mortality is about 20% in the first 12 months after hip fracture and is higher in men than women.
• It is estimated that the lifetime risk of experiencing an osteoporotic fracture in men over the age of 50 is 30%, similar to the lifetime risk of developing prostate cancer.
• Vertebral fractures may cause equal morbidity in men and women. Hip fractures in men cause significant morbidity and loss of normal functioning.
• Although the overall prevalence of fragility fractures is higher in women, men generally have higher rates of fracture related mortality.
• As in women, the mortality rate in men after hip fracture increases with age and is highest in the year after a fracture. Over the first 6 months, the mortality rate in men approximately doubled that in similarly aged women.
• Forearm fracture is an early and sensitive marker of male skeletal fragility. In aging men, wrist fractures carry a higher absolute risk for hip fracture than spinal fractures in comparison to women.
• In Sweden, osteoporotic fractures in men account for more hospital bed days than those due to prostate cancer.
• 30% of hip fractures and 20% of vertebral fractures occur in men.

Men can suffer Fosamax-related injuries just like post-menopausal women.  (In fact, it isn’t just post-menopausal women, either; some evidence suggests that Fosamax was prescribed increasingly as a preventative treatment for osteoporosis in pre-menopausal women, too.)

Fosamax injuries include femur, or thighbone, fractures, which can be devastating injuries for men and women.  Activities that might result in a Fosamax-related femur fracture include walking down steps, sitting or standing, and walking.  The FDA has reported on the alarming incidence of femur fractures for long-term Fosamax users.  

The Spangenberg law firm has provided information on potential Fosamax lawsuits at www.my-fosamax-lawsuit.com.  The website provides information on Fosamax femur fractures and other possibly Fosamax-related injuries.  The Spangenberg law firm can also be reached at 1-877-696-3303.  

Patients—men or women—suffering from this type of injury after taking Fosamax should consult with a Fosamax injury attorney soon to evaluate whether they have a Fosamax-related potential legal claim.  There may be a statute of limitations clock running, which limits the time period in which you can file a lawsuit.  

Learn more about the Fosamax statute of limitations.