Propecia Company Merck & Co’s Finasteride 1mg UK Patent Expires

added 30th January 2015

Merck & Co, the pharmaceutical company behind male hair loss pill Propecia, no longer have the exclusive rights to supplying 1mg finasteride tablets in the UK.

Propecia Finasteride 1mg Patent Expires in UK - Combat Hair LossThe UK patent on the active ingredient finasteride (1mg doses) expired in October 2014, throwing open the doors for other manufacturers of the oral hair loss treatment to enter the market.

Having been used to treat male pattern hair loss since it obtained FDA approval in 1997, the name ‘Propecia’ has become synonymous with finasteride 1mg. However, alternative brands who also supply finasteride 1mg tablets, such as Aindeem and Finpecia, are now free to compete in the UK’s highly competitive male hair loss treatment market which is estimated to be worth around £100 million per year.

Finasteride is administered in 1mg doses for the prevention and treatment of male pattern baldness. The oral tablets are generally taken once per day in order to inhibit the formation of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) – the hormone by-product which causes androgenic alopecia in those who are predisposed to genetic hair loss. In the absence of DHT attacking hair follicles, normal hair growth is more likely to occur.

Finasteride 1mg is one of only two hair loss medications licensed by the MHRA in the UK for the treatment of androgenic alopecia in men; the other is minoxidil.

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