Propecia Lawsuits Surge 220% Year over Year
By Propeciasideeffects.co.uk
PUBLISHED: 11:18AM BST 13 May 2014
By Propeciasideeffects.co.uk
PUBLISHED: 11:18AM BST 13 May 2014
Heartache medication: Merck CEO Kenneth C. Frazier (above) faces booming Propecia litigation as pharma giant seeks to sell off off-patent pills. (CREDIT: Merck & Co.)
LONDON – Merck CEO Kenneth C. Frazier continues to see stacks of Propecia litigation piling up at his front door as more and more victims of the perilous hair-loss medication demand their day in court.
According to the pharma giant’s quarterly report for the period ended March 31, 2014, “approximately 1,190” product-liability lawsuits “involving a total of approximately 1,450 plaintiffs…have been filed against Merck.” The plaintiffs allege that “they have experienced persistent sexual side effects following cessation of treatment with Propecia and/or Proscar” (the same drug, used to treat enlarged prostate).
That's a 220 percent rise in the number of lawsuits (up 650), and a 190 percent rise in plaintiffs (up 690), versus the same period in 2013.
Should litigation continue to pour in at an annual rate of 220 percent, there will be 134,922 law suits and 68,216 plaintiffs by the year 2020.
A growing epidemic, post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) is characterized by sexual, neurological, hormonal and psychological side effects, including loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, Peyronie's disease, penile shrinkage, gynecomastia, muscle atrophy, cognitive impairment, severely dry skin, and depression.
Many PFS patients also suffer economic hardship due to job loss, and emotional distress due to the breakup of marriages and romantic relationships. PFS has also been linked to suicides.
At the same time, social-media efforts to rid the world of Propecia have been gathering steam.
A MoveOn.org petition to take Propecia off the market has gathered more than 630 supporters from around the globe. Among the most recent signees are relatives and friends of Daniel Stewart, criminal-justice professor from Texas who took his own life in April after in the midst of suffering from PFS:
“My brother in-law lost his life because of PFS. This is real, and it is devastating!” wrote Lori Stewart from Lilburn, Ga., on April 21.
“This drug killed my Uncle Danny. It must be taken off the market!; wrote Noah Miller from Elizabethtown, Ky., on May 11, 2014.
And the @RecallPropecia Twitter account is closing in on 350 followers, who include U.S. Senator Al Franken, the New York Post, CNN medical producer Val Willingham, Pharmaceutical Online editor Lori Clapper, and the RxISK.org founder Dr. David Healy.
Petition above asking Propecia maker Merck to fund medical research into post-finasteride syndrome on the road to a thousand signatures.
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