Merck & Co changes web as FDA complains

Merck & Co has overhauled its web site promoting the osteoporosis drugFosamax (alendronate) after the US Food and Drug Administration expressed concerns that the site overstated the drug's benefits and minimized its risks. The firm used the phrase "Preserving Your Independent Lifestyle" on the web, which the FDA says "misleadingly implies an outcome of Fosamax treatment that has not been demonstrated by substantial evidence."

Kyra Lindemann, a spokeswoman for Merck, told Reuters that "we did take immediate action to revise our Internet web site and we made changes in full accordance with the agency's request." She added that the firm has also discontinued the use of promotional materials that made similar or the same statements.