[U] $27.7 Million Agreement In Principle To Settle Fosamax® Federal ONJ Claims -- Well. That Was Quick!

UPDATED: 12.09.13 @ 6 PM EST -- This deal is relatively tiny: it only covers the ONJ claimants, and it requires 100 per cent participation by all ONJ claimants, prior to the end of March of 2014, in order to become binding. Most of all, it is for a grand total of $27.7 million. Like I said -- tiny. Now there will be no SEC Form 8-K -- it is decidedly immaterial to $47 billion a year Merck.

The federal 06-1789 MDL has apparently settled (UPDATED: ONJ claims only; no femur, or other, fractures are included in the deal), just this morning. Even if all ONJ claimants signify that they will "opt in" by March 31, 2014, Whitehouse Station may still avoid the deal altogether -- anytime prior to May 15, 2014. This is not really a large, grand bargain, at all. It is very modest, and leaves as many as 4,115 Fosamax^® femur claims entirely unaddressed.More soon. So much for a big Christmas deal.

Per Reuters, just now:

. . . .Tim O'Brien, a lawyer at Levin, Papantonio, Thomas, Mitchell, Rafferty & Proctor who represents Fosamax plaintiffs, confirmed in an email that the parties had agreed to a "global settlement process. . . ."

I'd expect an SEC Form 8-K in the morning from Merck. We will continue to cover any additional resolution -- and material talks aimed at the same, here.