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Written question asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench) on Friday, 16 January 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Friday, 30 January 2026. It was answered by Baroness Merron (Labour) on Monday, 26 January 2026 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Dutasteride and Finasteride: Prescriptions

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government how many prescriptions for (1) finasteride, and (2) dutasteride, have been issued in the NHS in each year since 2014.

Answer

The following table shows the requested information in each calendar year between 2014 and 2024, as well as between January and November 2025, and that has been dispensed in England regardless of where prescribed:

Period

Finasteride

Dutasteride

2014

2,717,411

352,211

2015

2,954,990

325,232

2016

3,176,498

311,415

2017

3,360,103

294,715

2018

3,564,023

301,071

2019

3,762,144

296,300

2020

3,864,669

289,198

2021

3,900,062

275,907

2022

4,052,091

278,755

2023

4,230,844

282,205

2024

4,463,271

284,220

January-November 2025

4,108,900

259,432

Source: NHS Business Services Authority, Prescription Costs Analysis (PCA)

Notes:

  1. This is based on the information within the PCA for the British National Formulary (BNF) chemical substance of Finasteride and Dutasteride.
  2. The PCA provides total number of prescription items of each medicine dispensed in the community in England.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL13649
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Prescriptions Finasteride Dutasteride
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk