FDA Adverse Events Reports (FAERS) Summary for FINASTERIDE

These tables and charts are based on 49,214 total reports for FINASTERIDE (FINASTERIDE) received by the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) from 2004 through July 30, 2026.

This FAERS total includes 46,370 pharmaceutical company-submitted and non-U.S. FAERS reports and 2,844 U.S. consumer or healthcare provider-submitted MedWatch reports. Adverse events listed on this page represent serious and sometimes rare adverse events reported to pharmaceutical companies, and often do not represent typical side effects for the medication. Find common side effects in the most recent official drug label.

For a separate summary of the 2,844 U.S. reports filed via the FDA MedWatch voluntary reporting system, view our FDA MedWatch FINASTERIDE summary report. (See notes section below for explanation of FDA’s mandatory and voluntary reporting system.)

Top 20 Adverse Effects Associated with FINASTERIDE (reported in FAERS Database)

 Side Effect# of FDA Reports
1FATIGUE3231
2ADVERSE DRUG REACTION2688
3ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION2447
4DEPRESSION2424
5DRUG INEFFECTIVE2047
6DIZZINESS1994
7DEATH1986
8DIARRHEA1977
9ANXIETY1959
10SHORTNESS OF BREATH1840
11OFF LABEL USE1773
12LACK OF STRENGTH AND ENERGY (ASTHENIA)1697
13INSOMNIA1641
14FALL1501
15ADVERSE EVENT1428
16SUICIDAL IDEATION1405
17NAUSEA1268
18HEADACHE1239
19PAIN1164
20LOSS OF LIBIDO1133

Latest Known Outcomes for Reactions Reported for FINASTERIDE

Latest Known Outcome for Reported ReactionsNumber of Cases
1Unknown Outcome25945
2Patient has not recovered/symtoms have not resolved13233
3Patient recovered10464
4Patient is recovering/symptoms resolving5549
5Patient died3452
6Patient has recovered but has consequent health issues672

Yearly FDA Adverse Event Reports (Table)

YearNumber of Reports
20031
2004179
2005194
2006168
2007186
2008248
2009299
2010491
2011723
2012953
20131344
20141586
20152365
20162738
20172745
20183466
20193286
20203794
20213221
20222977
20232889
20244907
20257183
20263271

Reports by Patient Age Group (Table)

Age GroupNumber of Reports
0-1080
11-20233
21-301587
31-401473
41-50910
51-601985
61-705819
71-809958
81-906263
91+858

Based on 29166 reports that included a patient age.

FINASTERIDE Total Reports

 Male    Female    Unknown    Total  
 43217    1190    4807    49,214  

Top Countries Reporting

 Country  Number of Reports
United States  31018
United Kingdom  7846
Canada  1254
France  1024
Italy  830
Germany  658
EU  310
Sweden  280
Spain  235
10 China  177

Outcomes for Reports

Serious: 31699
Not Serious: 17482
Note: A serious outcome means the adverse event resulted in death, a life threatening condition, hospitalization, disability, congenital anomaly, or other serious condition.

Top Indications      
HAIR LOSS
Androgenetic alopecia
Product used for unknown indication
Prostatomegaly
Benign prostatic hyperplasia

Top Companies Reporting

   HETERO
   DR REDDYS
   TEVA
   MYLAN
   ACCORD
   ORGANON
   ALKEM
   CIPLA
   RANBAXY
   AUROBINDO

Safety-Related FDA Updates

FDA Approval Date: 2007-03-28

PROSCAR (FINASTERIDE) Rx Drug:
Reports of suicidal thoughts.
Safety-related Labeling Changes


Have experience (good or bad) with PROSCAR? Rate PROSCAR at Ask a Patient.

PROPECIA (FINASTERIDE) Rx Drug:
Safety-related Labeling Changes


Have experience (good or bad) with PROPECIA? Rate PROPECIA at Ask a Patient.

For serious adverse events, report them to the FDA by contacting the drug manufacturer or report directly through the MedWatch voluntary reporting form.

Notes

Events listed on this page represent serious and often rare adverse events reported to pharmaceutical companies, and do not represent typical side effects for the medication. Find common side effects on the most recent official drug label This report, created by AskaPatient.com, is derived from the cases for FINASTERIDE reported to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) and obtained from Open FDA. Data was last updated with reports received through July 30, 2026.

This summary includes ALL reports where the drug is a "primary OR secondary OR suspected interacting" drug. Typically, reports are filed for the most serious type or "event" and do not represent incidental or minor side effects. The majority of these reports are mandatory reports submitted by pharmaceutical companies, who receive complaints from consumers. The reactions, side effects, or "adverse events," represent up to the 20 most frequently occuring events in the database for a drug related to the event. This report also features counts of latest known outcomes associated with reported side effects, but does not provide the specific outcomes for specific adverse events.

Adverse Event Reports are submitted to the FAERS database by pharmaceutical companies (mandatory reporting is required by manufacturers, distributors, or importers). Health care providers such as doctors (voluntary reporting), and patients themselves (voluntary reporting) report to the FDA directly through the MedWatch program. Those MedWatch reports are coded and included in the FAERS database. This report mainly consists of the mandatory reports, because the MedWatch reports are a small percentage (3 - 5%) of total reports. Link to the MedWatch summary report at the top of the page for a summary of the directly reported (voluntary) adverse events for this drug.The number of reports included here might differ somewhat from the number of reports in the downloadable quarterly FAERS reports and in the online FAERS dashboard, due to lags in reporting, drug name differences, duplicates, and other factors. Open FDA states that it only includes the most recent version of a case report. It also adds the disclaimer: "Do not rely on openFDA to make decisions regarding medical care. While we make every effort to ensure that data is accurate, you should assume all results are unvalidated."

FDA uses the "MedDRA" classification system to describe reported adverse reactions. MedDRA is a standardized medical terminology that facilitates sharing of regulatory information internationally. In some cases, "patient friendly" terms for the layman designated by MedDRA have been substituted for medical jargon. Please contact us with questions or comments about this report.