Will Fosamax be Vioxx all over again?
By Martha Rosenberg 1999 was a good year for Merck. In its 64 page annual report it predicted arthritis medicine Vioxx–Our Biggest, Fastest and Best Launch Ever!–would prevent Alzheimer’s disease and colon cancer. It announced it was seeking approval to market asthma drug Singular to two-year-olds. And it predicted 40 million women would take its new osteoporosis drug the bisphosphonate Fosamax as it continued to “help educate both physicians and patients” about the bone disease. Of course Vioxx was withdrawn in 2004 for doubling stroke and heart attacks in long term users, Singular is suspected of causing suicide and Fosamax is tightly linked to osteonecrosis, atrial fibrillation, intractable pain and now cancer. While everyone knew Fosamax (alendronate) and the esophagus didn’t mix–patients who don’t remain upright for half an hour after taking it risk inflammation, ulcers, bleeding, blockage and sometimes perforation (see: landmine in throat)–no one expected the salvo from the F
