“Female Viagra” Up for FDA Review

On Friday June 18th, the FDA will be hosting a public hearing on a drug called Flibanserin, that is widely being proclaimed as “the new Viagra for women,” ages 18-50. I have been writing about the search for the pink Viagra since 1998, when V was approved by the FDA.

This is the latest attempt by a pharmaceutical company to cash in on the Viagra phenomenon, and market a sex drug for women. The first time Pfizer approached the FDA to get Viagra approved for women. The next time Procter and Gamble wanted approval for their testosterone patch. Now Boehringer Ingelheim has a brain drug that supposedly enhances sexual desire in women.

In a nutshell, Flibanserin works on the brain (with the same chemical composition as an anti-depressant) and has been shown to increase sexual desire in women (just slightly higher than the placebo). This is another attempt to establish women’s low sexual desire as a medical disorder (much like Viagra established E.D. as a new condition).