In 1975, copies of Imperato-McGinley's presentation were seen by P. Roy Vagelos, who was then serving as Merck's basic-research chief. He was intrigued by the notion that decreased levels of DHT led to the development of smaller prostates. Dr. Vagelos then sought to create a drug which could mimic the condition found in these children to treat older men who were suffering from benign prostatic hyperplasia.[70]

Finasteride was developed by Merck under the code name MK-906.[46] In 1992, finasteride (5 mg) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of BPH, which Merck marketed under the brand name Proscar. In 1997, Merck was successful in obtaining FDA approval for a second indication of finasteride (1 mg) for treatment of male pattern hair loss, which was marketed under the brand name Propecia.[71] It was the first 5α-reductase inhibitor to be introduced and was followed by dutasteride in 2001.[72] The first study of finasteride in the treatment of hirsutism in women was published in 1994.[73]

Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finasteride#History