Novartis Wins Aredia/Zometa Suit; Failure to Warn Didn’t Cause Jaw Decay

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. won an Aredia/Zometa suit May 14 as a jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina rejected a man’s claims his jawbone decay was caused by insufficient warnings on the company’s bone-building drugs (Earp v. Novartis Pharm. Corp., E.D.N.C., No. 11-680, verdict).

Jimmy Earp’s physician prescribed Aredia and then Zometa to him from 1998 until 2004 in conjunction with treatment for multiple myeloma, according to filings in the case.

The jury found Jimmy and Patricia Earp proved that the drugs medically caused his osteonecrosis of the jaw, and also found that the warning was inadequate ...