A Wilmington, N.C. man has filed a Propecia erectile dysfunction (ED) lawsuit, claiming that his years of treatment using the hair loss drug left him with permanent sexual dysfunction.

Plaintiff Robert M. began taking Propecia as a male pattern baldness treatment in 1999 when he was 24 years old, and used it as directed. While using Propecia, the plaintiff was diagnosed with erectile dysfunction and associated sexual dysfunction.

After discontinuing use of the drug, he is still allegedly suffering from these unfortunate side effects. This has caused him to experience significant pain and suffering and has decreased the quality of his life. Many other men who have taken Propecia have also reported detrimental sexual side effects that continue long after they stopped taking the hair loss drug.

Robert’s Propecia sexual dysfunction lawsuit is being transferred into the multidistrict litigation currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Propecia Associated With Sexual Dysfunction Side Effects

When it first hit the market, Propecia (finasteride) was heavily marketed using the implication that men who were losing their hair were also losing their sex appeal. Propecia made the pitch that by using the drug to replace hair loss, users would regain their attractiveness and youthful appearance. Unfortunately, Propecia has been associated with a number of adverse sexual side effects in multiple controlled studies.

According to research conducted at the Center for Andrology and Division of Endocrinology at George Washington University, physicians treating male pattern hair loss studied the potential risk of persistent sexual side effects associated with Propecia. Among the studies’ findings, subjects reported high rates of new-onset persistent sexual dysfunction associated with the use of finasteride. 94 percent of participants developed low libido, 92 percent developed erectile dysfunction, 92 percent developed decreased arousal, and 69 percent developed problems with orgasm.

In 2008, the Swedish Medical Products Agency required the manufacturer to update the labels for all Propecia distributed in Sweden to give more information on the drug’s long-term effects. The manufacturer, Merck, updated the label throughout Europe – but not in America. Merck reportedly updated the U.S. label nine times without acknowledging the danger of Propecia sexual side effects. It wasn’t until 2011 that U.S. labels reflected the possibility of serious Propecia side effects such as sexual dysfunction.

Propecia Lawsuits

Propecia lawsuits allege that published clinical studies show rates of sexual dysfunction in men who use the hair loss medication that may be as high as 92 percent. Worse yet, half of all affected users will never regain normal sexual function, even after cessation of the drug. Men like Robert who file Propecia lawsuits allege that manufacturer Merck did nothing to warn users and the medical community of devastating and permanent sexual side effect risks of Propecia.

This Merck Propecia Lawsuit is Case No: 1:15-cv-01763-JG-VVP and the Propecia MDL is In Re: Propecia (Finasteride) Product Liability Litigation MDL No. 2331, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.