Propecia Lawsuit Filed Over Loss of Sex Life From Hair-Loss Drug

A Florida man has filed a product liability lawsuit against Merck after suffering erectile dysfunction and loss of his sex life from Propecia, a prescription drug for treatment of hair loss. 

The Propecia lawsuit was filed by Gary Reynolds in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on February 23.

According to allegations raised in the complaint, Reynolds began taking Propecia in 1999, when he was 35 years old. After about six months, he began to notice problems in his sex life, such as erectile dysfunction and decreased libido, or desire to engage in sexual activity.

The problems became so severe that Reynolds decided to stop taking Propecia because of the sexual side effects in 2009. He alleges that he has been left with permanent sexual dysfunction, depression, cognitive problems, pain in his testicles and prostate and other long-term problems from Propecia impacting his sex life.

Reynolds joins a growing number of men throughout the United States who are pursuing a lawsuit over Propecia after experiencing similar problems. The complaints allege that Merck did not adequately research the medication before heavily marketing it and failed to properly warn about the impact side effects of Propecia may have on a man’s sex life.

Warnings provided to consumers and the medical community in the United States suggest that such problems are temporary and resolve after men stop taking the drug. However, the drug carries stronger warnings in a number of other countries, providing information about reports involving persistent erectile dysfunction, which have persisted in some men even after the medication is discontinued.

On March 29, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation is scheduled to hear arguments over whether the Propecia litigation should be consolidated before one judge for pretrial proceedings.

Propecia (finasteride) is approved for the treatment of male pattern baldness. It is a low-dose version of Proscar, approved in 1992 for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Recently, Merck took down their dedicated web site for Propecia, leading some to wonder whether the company may be revising the warning label or even considering a Propecia recall.

For nearly a month, Merck has displayed a message on their Propecia.com website, indicating that the “website is not currently available”, providing links to the current prescribing information, patient product information, the Propecia Persistence Program and a link encouraging visitors to report any negative side effects of Propecia to the FDA’s MedWatch program.