The plaintiffs allege that the advertising for the GSK / Roche product misleads consumers and physicians about the benefits of the drug, specifically that the advertising for Boniva falsely claims that the drug has been proven to reduce the risk of nonspinal fractures in osteoporosis patients.
Procter & Gamble and Sanofi Aventis say that this claim has not been proven in clinical trials of Boniva, whereas their own Actonel medication has been proven to reduce the risk of non-spinal fractures after three years.
Both Actonel and Boniva have been proven to reduce the risk of spinal fractures at three years in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. The medications have never been compared in head-to-head clinical studies.