Today a federal judge in Manhattan ruled to dismiss a lawsuit against Merck & Co involving their drug Fosamax, alleging that the osteoporosis drug causes jaw damage.

According to Rueters,

U.S. District Judge John Keenan on Monday found that Bessie Flemings, 74, a Mississippi resident whose primary dentist labeled her oral hygiene as “poor,” failed to show that her use of Fosamax caused the death of jawbone tissue, a condition known as osteonecrosis of the jaw, or ONJ.

Keenan said Flemings’ case was the second of three “bellwether” trials in nationwide litigation over Fosamax, which has spawned close to 900 lawsuits. The judge is handling many of the cases.

Fosamax is part of family of osteoporosis drugs that include Procter & Gamble Co’s Actonel and Roche’s Boniva.

The good news for Fosamax users is that in all cases thus far it has not been found at fault. In the event that you do experience any side affects, visit your doctor and follow his or her directions.

Today the FDA announced a new program aimed at reducing the amount of needless injury do to miss use of prescription medication.

Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, the agency’s commissioner said,

Too many people suffer unnecessary injuries from avoidable medication misuse, errors and other problems. The FDA is launching the Safe Use Initiative to develop targeted solutions for reducing these injuries.

The new initiative will also aim to remedy the dosage problems with over the counter medications and their deliver devices, such as droppers, spoons or cups found packaged with drugs like liquid Tylenol and Benadryl.

According to CNN, over 4 million cases of miss use a year result in a trip to the emergency room or the doctor, with over 100,000 having to ultimately be hospitalized. The FDA said that over half could have been prevented.

Hopefully these new guide lines will help, but I have my doubts. Many of the problems with dosing aren’t with the instructions or the delivery device, but are human error. It is good that they are simplifying the instructions as much as possible, but I fear we won’t see much of a downturn in overdosing.

What do you think?