Boniva Lawsuit | Side effects: Jaw Factures, Femur Bone Fracture

Boniva side effects are a very serious matter. Women who have gone through menopause are at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis as they age. Boniva is a medication that has been prescribed to women in order to help increase their bone mass and prevent a fracture of the spine. Boniva is marketed both as a treatment for osteoporosis and as a means of preventing new cases. However, Boniva has also been associated with some severe side effects, including jaw fractures, femur bone fracture and other bone fractures.

Boniva complications

The side effects of Boniva are a serious matter. Ibandronate side effects cannot be simply be ignored. As a result, there have been numerous lawsuits against the manufacturer of this particular class of drugs, some of which have resulted in financial recoveries for the plaintiffs. If you have taken Boniva and have suffered any of these fractures, you should immediately contact a Boniva lawsuit attorney to see if you may be eligible for Boniva side effects compensation. Many people are searching the internet for the following: “boniva vs fosamax” as well as “broken femur bone.” This article explains boniva side effects.

2023 update: We are no longer reviewing Boniva lawsuits.

Boniva Basics:

BONIVA is medication prescribed for treatment of osteoporosis in women (post menopause). It also helps prevent osteoporosis in woman
“BONIVA helps increase bone mass and helps reduce the chance of having a spinal fracture (break).” RX list
Boniva’s generic name is ibandronate.
Class of drug: bisphosphonates
Once a month
“BONIVA helps increase bone mass and helps reduce the chance of having a spinal fracture (break).” Id.

8/6/2020– “The incidence of hip fracture has decreased steadily over the past 40 years, but a new analysis suggests that new osteoporosis drugs have made only a small contribution to the trend. The report, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, included 10,552 men and women and their offspring followed since 1970. Every five years through 2010, the researchers recorded the number of hip fractures in people over 60. They found that the incidence of hip fractures decreased by 67 percent over those years, and rates were lower in people born later. The bone-strengthening bisphosphonates, like Fosamax (introduced in 1995) and Boniva (introduced in 2003), cut the fracture incidence by about 4.8 percent, the researchers estimate. But smoking decreased to 15 percent of participants in 2010, from 38 percent in 1970, and heavy drinking declined to 4.5 percent, from 7 percent. Both are significant risk factors for fracture. Other risk factors, like being underweight and early menopause, were stable over the years.” New York Times

What is Boniva?

Boniva medication was approved by the FDA to treat osteoporosis in 2003. The drug was designed and manufactured by Roche’s Genentech unit. In 2012, several different generic manufacturers received approval to make the drug after Genentech’s patent expired.

What is Boniva is an important question. Boniva can be taken in the tablet form or as an injection. The injections are given every three months and can mean that the patient does not have to take pills daily. However, there have been shortages over the years of the injectable version. The drug has been a big contributor to Genentech’s bottom line. In 2011, the year before generic companies obtained approval to make the drug, sales of Boniva reached almost $500 million. The year before, sales reached nearly $1 billion. Genentech relied on a marketing blitz for the drug, setting aside a large budget for an ad campaign that featured actress Sally Field. After generic versions of the drug were approved, sales leveled off for the drug.

What is Osteoporosis?

Bones continuously break down and re-form themselves. It is part of the normal process. However, when one suffers from osteoporosis, the bones break down and lose mass and they are not able to regrow. Osteoporosis can result from any one of a number of different conditions including rheumatoid arthritis or kidney and stomach conditions. Sometimes, osteoporosis simply comes from age. Those who have the condition suffer from issues with posture and are more likely to suffer bone breaks and femur bone fracture. There are over $20 billion in costs every year that are associated with osteoporosis.

How Boniva Works

Boniva ( ibandronate) medication works to prevent bone breakdown and to increase bone density. Specifically, it is known as Ibandronate. It is taken by tablet once every month. It contains nitrogen and prevents osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. In plain English, this is the process whereby cells break down the tissue in bones. The calcium from the tissue is then released into the bloodstream. Boniva is supposed to increase the mass of the bones. Specifically, Boniva attempts to slow the process of bone breakdown and reformation since those who suffer from osteoporosis do not reform bone mass as well.

Boniva is a class of bisphosphonates. These substances are also found in laundry soaps and fertilizers. Bisphosphonates have also been used to treat certain types of cancer. Bisphosphonates work by binding to calcium ions, and the only place in the body where calcium is found in great supply is in the bones.

Side Effects of Boniva

what are the ibandronate side effects? While Boniva is intended to help strengthen the bones and prevent loss of bone density, in practice it can actually lead to bone fractures among people who are taking the drug. Specifically, the femur bone is at increased risk of fracture. This began to be noticed by researchers several years after the drug received FDA approval. Some researchers have expressed concern that Boniva can help delay the reformation process while the bone breakdown is still occurring.

This has been the subject of an FDA communication that was issued in October 2010. The FDA announced in March 2010 that it was looking into the issue of Boniva and fractures based on recent media reports. The FDA said that it had seen evidence of a clear connection, but nevertheless was looking into the issue.

The most common complications caused by BONIVA:

Back pain
Headache
Muscular pain
swelling in facial areas
breathing difficulties
allergic reactions (hives)
Heartburn
Stomach area (abdominal) pain
Pain in your arms and legs
Diarrhea
Flu-like symptoms

Femur bone fracture

This resulted in an FDA Drug Safety Communication. The FDA does this when it wants to alert the public that it is looking at certain potential issues relating to drug complications, but is still evaluating the data. Specifically, the FDA warned that patients were at greater risk of atypical subtrochanteric femur fractures. This is a rare type of fracture that impacts the bone just below the hip joint. Although this fracture amount to less than one percent of the overall hip and femur fractures, it is more prevalent among those who are taking Boniva. While the FDA’s conclusion was not established by scientific study, it resulted from statistics and reports of adverse incidents. As a result, the FDA stated that it could not recommend an optimal duration for Boniva treatments since long-term usage may potentially be connected with these types of fractures. The FDA required that a medication guide be given to patients when they are picking up their prescriptions.

Boniva medication

The FDA looked at several studies in reaching its conclusion. One study suggested that Boniva helped prevent fractures when used for up to five years. After that point, however, the long-term benefits dissipated. Another study looked at atypical fractures and found that 82 percent of the people who had these rare fractures were taking a bisphosphonate. The FDA did not look at whether this drug is dangerous in the first place. It only addressed complications that result from long-term usage of the drug.

What are long term effects of broken femur?

In addition to thigh bone fractures, those who have taken Boniva medication have also reported experiencing a condition known as “dead jaw.” This is similar to what happens when one does not fully recover from dental surgery. It can mean that there are loose teeth or infections in the jaw. Ultimately, this can lead the exposed jaw bone. At a certain point, the jaw bone can die and this is not fixable. There are other side effects that have been associated with Boniva.

Product Liability Lawsuits

Lawsuits about the Bovina side effects were combined in a multi-district litigation with suits against Merck, who manufacturers a different products called Fosamax. Plaintiffs found some success in the case when they sued the manufacturers for failure to warn about the side effects of these types of medication. One major issue is: boniva vs fosamax?The case regarding Fosamax was initially thrown out by a lower Federal Court on a procedural issues before being revived by an appeals court. Now, the case is in front of the United States Supreme Court with an important point of law connected to failure to warn cases at issue. The Fosamax case may change the way that drug product liability cases are litigated depending on the result at the Court. Based on the Supreme Court’s ruling, it could lead to additional lawsuits related to the use of Bovina and other drugs of this class.

If you have taken Bovina and have suffered injury from any side effects, including atypical femoral fractures and “dead jaw,” you should immediately contact a Boniva side effects lawyer to discuss your Boniva lawsuit legal rights. You may be entitled to financial compensation for the injury that you have suffered. As with any product liability lawsuit, your lawyer will work on a contingency basis. This means that you do not owe any money unless your Boniva lawsuit lawyer is successful in helping you obtain a financial recovery for your injuries.

ARE BONIVA AND RECLAST THE SAME THING?

“Boniva (ibandronate) and Reclast (zoledronic acid) are bisphosphonates that alter the cycle of bone formation and breakdown in the body used to treat or prevent osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Reclast is also used to treat Paget’s disease, high blood levels of calcium caused by cancer (hypercalcemia of malignancy), multiple myeloma (a type of bone marrow cancer) or cancer that has spread from elsewhere in the body to the bone, and to increase bone mass in men with osteoporosis. Reclast is also used to treat or prevent osteoporosis in people who will be taking certain steroid medicines for 12 months or longer”. RX list

Many people are wondering the dangers of reclast? “Side effects of Boniva and Reclast that are similar include headache, diarrhea, flu-like symptoms (e.g., fever, chills, muscle/joint aches), nausea or stomach upset, injection site reactions (pain, redness, swelling), joint pain, or dizziness. Side effects of Boniva that are different from Reclast include back pain, redness or swelling of your eyes, pain in your arms or legs, weakness, allergic reaction, indigestion, vomiting, spinning sensation (vertigo), upper respiratory infection, pneumonia, or urinary tract infection. Side effects of Reclast that are different from Boniva include tiredness, cough, vision problems, constipation, or muscle pain.” Id.

What are the long term effects of broken femur?

“Recovery from femur fractures occurs most rapidly in the first 6 months after injury. Residual deficits in functional outcome were still measurable 12 months after injury. Knee pain was the most common and most severe source of patient discomfort 12 months after isolated femur fractures, and demonstrated moderate to good correlation with general and joint-specific functional outcome measures.” NCBI

Disability following a fracture of the femoral shaft

‘Disability following a fracture of the femoral shaft is prolonged, even when bone union occurs without complication. Treatment with an antegrade locked intramedullary nail is generally considered to be successful when union occurs predictably and malalignment is avoided. In fact, union rates exceeding 95% and malalignment rates below 5% are expected after intramedullary nailing of midshaft fractures.^1–8Nonetheless, patients report disability long after femoral fracture, even when surgery is accomplished with technical success and union is achieved.” Id.

What are the causes of prolonged disability?

” The time course of recovery is poorly understood, and the sources of disability are similarly unclear. There is general agreement that knee pain is a substantial functional problem following fracture of the femoral shaft. Ricci and colleagues⁹ reported knee pain in up to 36% of patients with fractures of the femoral shaft, but the severity and clinical importance of this knee pain remains unknown. Causes of knee pain are generally poorly understood. Various theories propose that intra-articular pathology, intraosseous hypertension, prominent hardware and muscle deconditioning may be the primary sources of knee pain following fracture of the femoral shaft.^10–16 Hip pain is also reported after intramedullary nailing. About 10% of patients report hip pain.⁹ Sources of hip pain include damage to the abductor musculature related to nail insertion.” Id.