This was to have been the second bellwether case against the drugmaker, which has been accused in some 1,000 lawsuits of failing to warn docs and patients its Fosamax osteoporosis med may cause osteonecrosis, or the painful death of jawbone tissue.

In his opinion, US District Judge John Keenan wrote that experts for Bessie Flemings, a Mississippi resident, couldn’t prove Fosamax caused her injury. The trial was set to begin in January. Last September, he declared a mistrial in the first case to go to trial afrter a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict.

Flemings, 74, was prescribed Fosamax in December 1997, when she was diagnosed with osteoporosis, but had a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and “continues to smoke cigarettes even though she is now dependent on an oxygen tank,” according to Keenan. Merck argues that smoking contributes to such jaw problems as osteonecrosis.

“I think that this particular decision will have no impact on the remainder of the cases because, as I read it, it’s specific to this case, and I suspect that we’ll probably appeal the ruling,” Robert Germany, a lawyer for Flemings at Pittman, Germany, Roberts & Welsh LLP in Jackson, Mississippi, tells Bloomberg.

“We are pleased that the Court agreed with us that Ms. Flemings did not present any reliable evidence supporting her claim that Fosamax caused her to suffer ONJ,” says Paul Strain of Venable, a law firm representing Merck, in a statement. “Unfortunately, Ms. Flemings had medical problems that cause people to develop jaw problems regardless of whether they were taking Fosamax.”