A man in Florida has filed suit against the
maker of Propecia, claiming the male baldness drug caused him to suffer Propecia erectile dysfunction and other sexual problems. The claim, brought in U.S.
District Court for the District of Tampa, is just the latest Propecia lawsuit
filed against Merck & Co. by men who say that the drug caused sexual
issues. The lawyer of Eddie and Lisa Sebastia filed a Propecia lawsuit in June of 2011, indicating
that from 1998 to 2007, Eddie Sebastia took either Propecia (1 mg finasteride)
or Proscar (5 mg finasteride) for male pattern hair loss. In June 2009,
Sebastia reported sexual
dysfunction symptoms to his physician, who suggested that the
problems might be Propecia sexual side effects, and could be permanent.
Side Effect Details of Propecia
Propecia (finasteride) is a prescription medication introduced by Merck in
December 1997 for treatment of male pattern baldness or hair loss. It is a
low-dose version of the prostate drug Proscar, which also contains finasteride
as the active pharmaceutical ingredient. Since introducing Propecia for hair
loss, Merck has engaged in an aggressive direct-to-consumer marketing campaign
for their medication, which has been referred to as a “cosmeceutical” product.
Within two years of receiving approval to sell Propecia, Merck was spending
over $125 million a year advertising the product without adequate warnings
about the potential Propecia sexual side effects.
Allegations raised in Propecia lawsuits filed
against Merck argue that the drug maker failed to provide adequate warnings to
men in the United States, despite more specific and detailed warnings provided
in other countries. In 2008, warnings in Europe stated that erectile
dysfunction problems from Propecia may persist even after the patient
discontinues use of the medication. In 2009, the warning label in Europe was
changed again to warn about the risk of permanent erectile dysfunction.
However, in the United States, the label for Propecia continued to contradict
the label in Europe, stating that “these side effects went away in men who
stopped taking Propecia because of them.” Recent research has indicated that erectile
dysfunction and other sexual injury from Propecia often continues long after
discontinuing the medication.
