Propecia is an oral prescription drug available for men to treat male pattern baldness and drug. This drug was hitherto not available in the US as it had not received FDA approval. However, The Food and Drug Administration have finally announced that it has given Merck & Company, the manufacturer of Propecia, permission for sale.

FDA convinced by Propecia

It took some time for FDA officials to be convinced enough to approve Propecia. However, they were convinced that Propecia was needed after they saw that an estimated 33 million American men have male pattern baldness, characterized by a receding hairline and hair loss at the crown of the scalp. A survey, published in a dermatology journal, found that more than 90 percent of men who were going bald worried about the future of their hair. “One man’s frivolity,” said Dr. Michael Weintraub, the director of the F.D.A. office that evaluated Propecia, “is another man’s serious problem.”

Propecia- Clinical tirals

Propecia also went through three clinical trials before it won approval from FDA. A total of 1,879 men participated, 1,215 of whom were followed for as long as two years. Before-and-after photographs, which Merck submitted to dermatologists for evaluation, showed visible improvement in more than 65% of men taking the pill, as against 7 percent of men taking a placebo.

The results can be categorised as follows:

30 percent – slight improvement

31 percent – moderate improvement

5 percent – great improvement

Dr. Vera Price, a dermatologist at the University of California at San Francisco who participated in the Merck studies, said that men started witnessing results in about three months of taking it. He added, “This is real hair. This is not peach fuzz.”

According to Merck officials, Propecia will be available from January. So now, you do not need to worry about receding hairlines and baldness. New Year definitely has a lot in store for men losing their hair.