Propecia side effects rumors surrounding erectile dysfunction started almost immediately after it was introduced to the market in 1998. It’s no wonder, that’s also one of the side effects of its active ingredient, finasteride, originally a treatment for prostate cancer. Now it is one of the most popular hair loss treatment pills on the market, touting the ability to not only stop hair loss, but in some cases reverse it.
Since its introduction, Propecia has made its manufacturer, Merck, billions of dollars. All the while Merck was failing to mention what it already knew, that the drug could potentially cause serious erectile dysfunction problems. Now, new studies suggest that condition could be permanent in some men.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeled the drug with the erectile dysfunction side effect in 2006 and has just recently found that Propecia may increase the male patient’s chances of contracting prostate cancer. This is bad since the vast majority of the clients are men. This is also surprising, since finasteride is a prostate cancer treatment.
FDA Safety Probe
The FDA has begun contacting the thousands of men who have complained through official and unofficial channels about being effected by the side effects. However, both FDA and Merck spokespersons maintain a policy of silence to much of the media.
According to John Peige, columnist for the Baltimore Sun, the FDA emails sent out to the victims of Propecia say, in part, “We are sorry to learn about your experience with the drug Propecia (finasteride) and the difficulties that you are now enduring. As you may already know, sometimes, additional side effects and safety issues that were not identified in clinical studies may occur after a drug is marketed.”
The FDA urges anyone affected by Propecia to “formally document your case via the MedWatch reporting system. The information you provide will be added to FDA’s post-marketing safety database and reviewed by the post marketing safety staff.”
Though many men have contacted the FDA, there are hundreds who have decided to engage attorneys instead and are now in the throws of starting a class action lawsuit.
Propecia Class Action Lawsuit
At the end of this month on March 29th, the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, will begin their hearing session in San Diego, will consider the legal petition for the centralization of dangerous drug lawsuits against Propecia.
The petition regarding Propecia was filed by plaintiff Christopher Masefield and asks for the centralization of almost a dozen federal lawsuits involving the hair loss drug. Merck, the maker of the drug, has been the subject of lawsuits in various federal districts that allege the drug failed to adequately warn of possibly irreversible male sexual dysfunction, clinical depression, and male breast cancer.
Many men filing lawsuits have experienced:
- Erectile Dysfunction – Impotency or inability to create or retain an erection in order to engage in sexual activity. This can seriously effect quality of life and ability to procreate.
- Male Breast Cancer – This is particularly dangerous because men are neither trained nor informed that they need to check for this very deadly disease.
- Prostate Cancer – This is one of the most prevalent diseases to strike men and kills thousands of men every year nationally.
- Lowered sexual desire – This is sort of counter productive to stopping hair loss since many men do it to retain and youthful and attractive look to attract women.
- Lowered amount of semen – This can directly effect ability to procreate and may inhibit a man from starting or further grow their family.
- Lowered quality of life – An active sex life has been shown to lead to stress relief, lowered instance of depression, heart health, and lowered chance of stroke.
- Anxiety – This can effect relationships at home and at work. Anxiety has also been shown to lead to insomnia, weight gain, and substance abuse.
- Depression – Depression is a serious problem that can lead to professional and personal consequences. This can also lead to suicide ideation.
Phillips Law Firm can help with your defective drug. Fill out the FREE case review.
By filing a Propecia lawsuit you can receive the compensation you deserve. Depending on your situation, you will either have an individual lawsuit or be added to the MDL already in progress. After a quick interview, the experienced Phillips Law Firm attorneys will be able to tell you your options and help you seek justice.
If you or a loved one are taking Propecia or any other derivative of Finasteride it is important that you contact legal council that has experience in protecting patients from giant pharmaceutical companies. Call Phillips Law Firm for a consultation on your legal options.
Contact Phillips Law Firm at (800) 708-6000. We offer a FREE case consultation 24/7 and offer a no fee promise. Our no free promise means that you do not have to pay an attorney fee if we do not recover compensation for you.
