Reuters asks judge to disclose secret documents on Propecia

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Reuters on Thursday urged an American judge to unlock documents filed in court over potential risks related to Propecia, Merck & Co (Reuters)MRK.N) popular baldness drug.

The petition was filed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, after a Reuters article released on Wednesday uncovered charges that Merck would not have fully disclosed on Propecia's label The incidence and duration of sexual dysfunction in men who took Propecia during clinical trials. These allegations are contained in court documents intended to be filed under seal.

Federal District Judge Brian Cogan has authorized Merck to keep company internal documents secret from litigation by Propecia users against the company. An erroneous wording allowed Reuters to look at certain details in the plaintiff's factum, but the underlying Merck documents cited in this memo are still under seal. These are the documents that Reuters' request seeks to make public.

"This is a matter of paramount importance that has been sealed without any recorded findings explaining this sealing," Reuters said in its motion to intervene. "The first amendment excludes such a result."

Merck has not responded to a request for comment. Previously, the company had told Reuters that it "advocated the safety and effectiveness of Propecia" and had indicated that the drug had been prescribed safely to millions of men since the late 1990s.

An investigation by Reuters on June 25 revealed that judges had allowed manufacturers of dozens of consumer products to file under seal in their courts information relevant to public health and safety. They often do so without explanation, although in most jurisdictions they must provide one.

The investigation revealed that hundreds of thousands of Americans had been killed or seriously injured in the past twenty years by allegedly defective products – drugs, cars, medical devices and other products – while the evidence that could have alerted consumers and regulators to potential hazards remained insufficient. seal.

More than 1,100 lawsuits against Propecia in the United States against Merck were brought before judge Cogan in a "multi-district" (MDL) procedure. Merck agreed to settle most of them last year for $ 4.3 million, to be split among the plaintiffs. Prior to the settlement, the plaintiffs' lawyers had relied on internal communications to the company to claim that when revising the original drug label, Merck underestimated the number of men with sexual symptoms in clinical trials and their duration. Merck solved the problem before responding to the allegation in court.

Under US law, court documents are supposed to be public, and the claim for confidentiality of Propecia documents that Reuters seeks to overturn, according to the petition, as they are essential to the plaintiffs' complaint that the drug causes adverse effects. persistent sexual side effects.

"These documents should not remain sealed in the absence of the most compelling reasons," Reuters said.

Read the Reuters motion