Merck Shuts Down Propecia Website
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- Created on Monday, 07 November 2011 14:24
Merck, the manufacturer of the hair loss drug Propecia, has recently shut down their website for Propecia. Instead, they are encouraging visitors to report negative side effects to the FDA. They even include a link for a refund request. You can see it here: http://www.propecia.com/sitedown.html
So what does this mean?
Almost all drugs have some side effects. Yet it is unheard of for the manufacturers of these other drugs to just shut down their site one day. Perhaps with all of the pending and upcoming litigation their legal staff has advised them to minimize communication/information about the product until they can vet all of the language written within the warnings and listed side effects.
One of the major issues in these lawsuits is that Merck was allegedly negligent in disclosing the severity of the side effects of their hair loss drug. So it would make perfect sense that all official language on the Propecia website, documentation, warnings, packaging, etc needs to be scrutinized.
Side effects that have been reported include the following:
- Erectile Dysfunction
- Abnormal Sexual Function
- Impotence
- Ejaculation disorder
- Decrease in ejaculatory volume
- Lower sex drive (decreased libido)
- Breast or Prostate Cancer, and Male breast growth (gynecomastia)
There are several reported cases where these side effects continue even after discontinuing use of Propecia as well as several reported cases where the severity of these side effects exceeded those listed on their packaging.
Many patients/victims of Propecia don’t consider themselves the litigious type. But it is important to remember that a lot of times drug companies rush drugs to market because they have bottom line revenue numbers they are trying to meet. Even if that means a high probability for future lawsuits, it is still sometimes financially ‘smart’ to take those risks. Especially with a drug like Propecia that has over $200 million a year in annual sales.
Sometimes the only way for the courts to disincentivize these bad business practices is to hit them where it hurts - their bottom line. The best course of action is to keep all options open. To discuss all of your options for free, contact a Propecia Law Firm that is successful in these types of complex litigation.
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