‘Women’s Viagra’ Seeks US FDA Approval

The Food and Drug Administration will consider approval of the female libido drug flibanserin for the third time, after rejecting it previously on concerns that it caused fainting, dizziness and nausea.

Termed flibanserin, it is the very first such drug that is a chromosome XX stimulator. However, the problem is that previous attempts at introducing the drug in pharmacies have failed.

Among the side effects of flibanserin are vertigo, a feeling that one is about to vomit and drowsiness. These are pretty nasty symptoms that need allaying if the drug is to go down well with pre-menopausal females.

The FDA team will hear the pros and cons regarding the new drug soon. Ultimately a conclusive decision will have to be taken. In the beginning, the FDA had offhandedly pooh-poohed the idea of flibanserin being a valid drug due to placebo studies that matched the effects of the drug. The German pharmacy responsible for the drug then sold it to an American firm.

So far the data is inconclusive. Whether the drug is just a placebo remains a bone of contention between the makers and the FDA. The ratio of difference between those taking flibanserin and those taking a placebo is very narrow thereby making the case for the medicine a weak one.

Viagra’s reputation was strengthened after it caused erections in males. It had originally been a heart drug. Similarly, flibanserin was actually prescribed as an anti-depressant but it turned out to be the case that it caused female orgasms.

Big pharma companies such as Pfizer and Procter and Gamble have already declared a female libido booster pill to be a lost cause. But the German firm responsible for flibanserin has not lost all hope regarding its darling drug. There may be more here than meets the eye. For one thing, the effect may be selective.

The human female is far more complex sexually than the male. Female sexuality is a dense jungle of sorts. And once the drug is fine-tuned in the lab, the day may come when females will be truly liberated a second time since the birth control pill became common. Since nearly half of all females suffer from low libido, such a miracle would really serve to erase their marital problems.

Agencies/Canadajournal