Plaintiff Nicholas R. filed a Propecia lawsuit, alleging the male pattern baldness drug treatment caused him to suffer from Propecia erectile dysfunction. This is one of many lawsuits that has been recently filed against Merck and Co., the drug’s manufacturer.

About Propecia

Propecia (finasteride) was approved in 1997 to treat androgenic alopecia or, as it is more commonly known, male pattern baldness. The Propecia lawsuit claims that side effects of Propecia actually include the risk of “cognitive impairment, development of depression, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and various forms of sexual dysfunction such as erectile dysfunction, reduced ejaculate volume, diminished or reduced libido, reduced sexual sensation and or infertility.” This long list of Propecia side effects was allegedly not warned against by Merck on the drug’s label or packaging information. 

Finasteride was first approved in a drug called Proscar, a drug approved in 1992 to treat benign prostate hyperplasia (BHP), which is also involved in this Propecia lawsuit. Propecia contains 1 mg of finasteride while Proscar has 5 mg. It was found that any user of finateride (including Propecia) are at a 39 percent risk of developing some form of sexual dysfunction. Additionally, the drug may not be as effective as the manufacturer has allegedly led consumers to believe. In 2003, it was reported that the baldness treatment was only effective 50 percent of the time.

These numbers are drastically different from the numbers listed on the Propecia label. The drug label shows that less than 1 percent (slightly above 1 percent for some disorders) of the patients showed the side effects of Propecia listed above. In 2003, the label was updated to include the risk of male breast cancer. In 2008, the label was changed once more to include the risk of erectile dysfunction, though this label change only occurred in Sweden.

As time went on, more side effects were added to the Propecia warning label. It was later discovered that the drug could lead to multiple forms of tumors and cancer as well as sexual dysfunction side effects.

Propecia Lawsuit

Nicholas used Propecia in 2008 at the age of 38. The Propecia lawsuit states, “Plaintiff began to suffer and was diagnosed with erectile dysfunction and related sexual dysfunction.” Even seven years later, Nicholas is allegedly still suffering from these side effects of Propecia.

Nicholas alleges Merck committed fraudulent concealment, strict liability, negligence, breach of warranties, fraud, violation of unfair and deceptive trade practices act, negligent infliction of emotional distress, as well as intentional infliction of emotional distress in the Propecia lawsuit.

Nicholas is one of thousands of men who have been exposed to serious side effects of Propecia. Many plaintiffs allege that had Merck been more forthcoming about the potential finasteride side effects, Nicholas or other men would not have used the drug and would have avoided the pain and suffering caused by Propecia.

This Propecia Lawsuit is Case No. 1:15-cv-01764, filed in In Re: Propecia (Finasteride) Product Liability Litigation, MDL No: 12-MD-2331, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Distrit of New York.