Viagra for Women Pill: New FDA Drug Addyi Aims to Increase Women's Sex Drive
Starting in October, premenopausal women who suffer from a lack of sexual desire will have the option to pop a little pink pill to increase their libido.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved flibanserin, the first treatment for sexual desire in both men and women. The drug, will be sold as Addyi, aims to help women with a condition known as hypoactive sexual desire disorder.
The pill was approved by the FDA after the pharmaceutical company launched an anti-sexism campaign call "Even the Score" that argued that men have many different sexual dysfunction drugs, like Viagra, but women have none.
"Today's approval provides women distressed by their low sexual desire with an approved treatment option," said Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in a statement announcing the approval, according to CNN. "The FDA strives to protect and advance the health of women, and we are committed to supporting the development of safe and effective treatments for female sexual dysfunction."
The drug makers, Sprout Pharmaceuticals, said that women taking the drug experienced a 37-percent increase in sexual desire during clinical testing trials. However, taking Addyi can lead to a number of side effects, including depression, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, insomnia and dry mouth.
Only trained physicians will be allowed to prescribe the pill to patients. The FDA is also requiring that the drug makers include strong warning to women that they should never take the drug with alcohol.
Doctors also warn that Addyi does not treat the psychological conditions that can reduce a woman's sex drive.
"If someone has low sexual desire because they hate their partner, sex hurts and their life is a mess ... the pill is not going to help them," Dr. Lauren Streicher of Northwestern University said.
"Women's sexuality is very complicated. It's not a matter of just taking that pill, by the way, and then all of a sudden the lights go on," added Judy Kuriansky, a clinical psychologist and certified sex therapist. "You have to feel good about your body. You have to feel good about yourself. You have to feel the guy really loves you. ... It's complex. It's not the same as a man taking a pill."
Other critics point out that Addyi has a lot of side effects with only modest benefits.
"This is a product that is neither very effective nor particularly safe," said Dr. Susan Wood, a former FDA official, to NBC News. "It won't benefit many women and at the same time the approval comes with a lot of restrictions, setting a precedent that a drug for women's sexual health has to be treated in a very special way."
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