Sales of Merck Anti-Baldness Drug Lagging

NEW YORK —  They’ve finally come up with a pill that prevents baldness. So why isn’t it flying off the shelves?

For one thing, men are reluctant to take a prescription drug when they’re healthy. For another, this one carries a slight risk of causing impotence.

Merck & Co. last year spent an estimated $91 million promoting its hair loss pill Propecia directly to U.S. consumers, according to Competitive Media Reporting, a media research firm.

For the effort, Merck posted just $68 million in U.S. sales last year and an additional $15 million overseas, only about two-thirds of what Wall Street was expecting.

“It’s been an outright disappointment,” said Neil Sweig, a drug analyst with Southeast Research Partners.

One weakness is that Propecia does little for men with a receding hairline. It only tends to grow hair on top and back of the head, doctors say.

But the main side effect seen with Propecia is decreased libido and impotence--although in just 2% of men. The problems disappear when men quit taking the drug.