Editor of esteemed French pharma journal Prescrire says market withdrawal of the drug is sole solution to ensuring patient safety
Nov. 29, 2025
Dear Friends:
True to its age-old neutrality ethos, the Swiss government doesn’t seem likely to participate in extracurricular finasteride-safety efforts anytime soon.
Channel 1 vs. State
The Swiss media, however, is a horse of a different color—one that recently hopped the border for a second opinion on how best to stem the mounting PFS epidemic.
Last month, Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), the French-language division of the Swiss Broadcasting Corp., debuted an investigative report titled Hair Loss, Hair Transplants & Hormones: The silent suffering of thousands of young people (English-subtitled version here.)
Produced for RTS’s medical-documentary series 36.9° (so named for the normal human-body temperature of 36.9 °C, or roughly 98.4° F), the story is reported by Alain Orange and Patrick Monod, who begin their probe into persistent finasteride side effects by speaking with Federica Bertone, a dermatologist at University Hospitals in Geneva.
“What’s a bit scary is this risk of sexual problems,” says Dr. Bertone. “When we explain the side effects, at least a third of the patients decide not to take [finasteride].”
“But…there are also risks of psychological problems, anxiety, depression and even suicidal ideation,” says Orange. “This latter issue made the European Medicines Agency underake a safety investigation of finasteride, a process which was still under way when we were shooting this story.”
“This grabs our attention because we need to evaluate our patients to see if they have depressive tendencies,” adds Dr. Bertone. “This makes us think twice when prescribing the medication.”
Bern notice
In January, while producing the documentary, Orange asked Swissmedic, his nation’s drug-regulatory authority, for comment on the EMA’s then-onging investigation into the causal relationship between 5-alpha reductase inhibitors and suicidality. In lieu of an on-camera interview, the agency emailed him a letter noting that, between 2010 and 2024, it had received 176 reports of adverse reactions stemming from the drug, 25 of which included suicidal ideation.
Swissmedic also wrote: “These risks of rare psychological and sexual side effects have been included in the information on the inside of the medication. Doctors must weigh the risks and the benefits individually with their patients. [We] will take additional measures if necessary for patient safety.”
Less than satisfied with that noncommittal position, particularly considering the number of severe finasteride ADRs Swiss citizens had filed with Swissmedic, Orange sought a second opinion from his neighbor to the west.
“In France, health authorities are much more active in warning patients and caregivers about the risks associated with finasteride,” he says. “And the medical journal Prescrire has included it on its list of drugs to avoid. Why? Based on what criteria? We’ll ask them.”
“Studies have shown that at best finasteride increases hair density by 10% on top of the head, and only during the treatment,” says Séverine Carré-Pétraud, Editorial Director for the Paris-based Prescrire, which is funded solely by its 23,000 subscribers and accepts no advertising, thus giving it full independence from the pharmaceutical and health care industries.
“But there may also be real suffering linked to the side effects of this medication—to sexual problems, depression and suicidal ideation, including patients who have actually taken their own lives,” Carré-Pétraud continues.
“The problem is that [finasteride] is still on the market. As long as any drug is still on the market, it is prescribed. So potentially, patients will be exposed to severe side effects. For us, the solution that would best protect people would be for the drug to be withdrawn from the market.”
Post-debut note
Although RTS’s documentary debuted October 10, five months after the EMA released the results of its finasteride probe, it didn’t include any updates on Swissmedic’s response to the news. So just for the record, we searched the agency’s website and found that it did adhere to the EMA’s mandate.
First, on November 17, it published a safety alert, headlined Finasteride, Dutasteride: New Measures to Minimize the Risk of Suicidal Thoughts, which reads, in part:
The marketing authorization holders of finasteride- and dutasteride-containing medicinal products would like to inform you, in coordination with Swissmedic, about the following:
Suicidal thoughts are an adverse drug reaction of orally administered finasteride-containing medicinal products and are mainly reported in patients being treated for androgenic alopecia.
Advise patients being treated for androgenic alopecia with oral finasteride (1 mg) to discontinue treatment and seek medical advice if they experience low mood, depression, or suicidal thoughts. Advise patients being treated with finasteride (5 mg) for benign prostatic hyperplasia to seek medical advice if they experience depressed mood, depression, or suicidal thoughts.
A patient information card is being introduced for medicinal products containing 1 mg finasteride to highlight the risks reported with finasteride.
A day later, on November 18, Swissmedic issued a Dear Doctor letter to healthcare providers, containing more or less the same warnings and instructions.
Yet unlike France, Belgium and Israel—which issued statements opposing the EMA’s post-investigation ruling that finasteride’s benefits continue to outweigh its risks—Switzerland has thus far remained neutral on the issue.
Finasteride was originally developed by Merck & Co., Inc., and first approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1993 as Proscar (5 mg, for enlarged prostate), and again in 1997, as Propecia (1 mg, for hair loss).
In June 2021, Merck spun off its Organon subsidiary as an independent public company (NYSE: OGN). Founded in the Netherlands in 1923, Organon bills itself as a “global health care company dedicated to making a world of difference for women, their families and the communities they care for.”
Among the Merck products Organon acquired in the deal were Proscar and Propecia. To report adverse events for either finasteride product, call the Organon Service Center at (844)674-3200, or email Service_Center@Organon.com.
Anyone living in the US who suffers from PFS should also report his or her symptoms to the US FDA. Anyone living outside the US who suffers from PFS should report his or her symptoms to the US FDA as well as to his or her local DRA, as directed on our Report Your Side Effects page.
If you or a loved one are suffering from PFS, and feeling depressed or unstable, please don’t hesitate to contact the PFS Foundation as soon as possible via our Patient Support hotline: social@pfsfoundation.org
Thank you.