Generic Propecia in Canada?

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I just wanted to say how much I enjoy your site. I have been following it for years.

I had a quick question. I recently went to my pharmacy in Canada to refill my Propecia prescription, and they informed me that a generic 1 mg form has become available. I was under the impression that the patent was scheduled to expire in 2013 (similar to the US). Sure enough, I picked up my prescription, and it was 1 mg of finasteride. I am sort of surprised by this, and I was wondering if it’s possible to make sure my pharmacy didn’t make an error, giving me a 5 mg tablet by accident? Is there any way to find out when the Propecia patent expires in Canada?

Thanks for all your help over the years!

I honestly don’t understand the prescription drug patent process in Canada. I assumed it was similar to the US law, but a quick Google search shows that the generic Propecia (1mg finasteride) is being sold online in Canada. Buying these medications in the US from an online Canadian pharmacy isn’t legal, but that hasn’t seemed to stop these pharmacies for quite some time. I don’t condone it, in case anyone was going to ask.

So either the patent already expired in Canada or there’s some other reason that the various online pharmacies are selling the 1mg dose in a generic form. That is good news for everyone except Merck in the United States. If anyone has further info about this, please let me know.