Suit is being brought against Merck Canada. Someone needs to get one going in the U.S. One of Canada’s top class action firms has taken the case so there must be something to it.
VANCOUVER, Jan. 24, 2011 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) – Lawsuit filed for men who suffer sexual dysfunction after using hair loss drug.
A class action was filed today in the Supreme Court of British Columbia by Vancouver resident, Michael Miller, against Merck Frosst Canada and its affiliated companies. The lawsuit has been brought on behalf of Canadian men who used Propecia or Proscar and suffered continuing sexual dysfunction.
Propecia and Proscar are prescribed as a cosmetic treatment for male pattern hair loss also known as androgenic alopecia. The product monograph discloses that some men may experience sexual dysfunction but states that the symptoms disappear after cessation of the drug.
Mr. Miller, who is in his early 20s, was concerned when his hair started to thin in some areas. He was prescribed Proscar which he hoped would stop his hair from thinning. After about a month of use he noticed a drastic change in his behaviour, “I lost my interest in sex and I felt anxious in social situations for no particular reason,” he says. While on the drug, his symptoms of sexual dysfunction increased as the months passed. When he could no longer bear the side effects, he stopped using Proscar but these symptoms didn’t go away: “My sexual functioning has not recovered, I have seen specialists and have tried treatments but nothing has worked,” says Mr. Miller.
According to Mr. Miller’s lawyer, David Klein, “The product labels have been changed in several European countries to include a warning of persistent erectile dysfunction after discontinuation of the drug but this change has not been made on the Canadian product labels.” It is alleged that the drug manufacturers failed to adequately warn Canadians of the true risks.
Klein also says, “So far, more than 80 Canadian men have expressed an interest in participating in the class action. We believe there are many other men who will come forward now that the case has been filed in court.”
Mr. Miller is represented by Klein Lyons, one of Canada’s most experienced class action law firms.