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A drug to boost female sex drive could be worth billions to the company that
manages to get it approved by the FDA. Recently, two new treatments have made
strides towards that goal. But some are skeptical of the real value of such
a drug to the women it’s supposed to help.
In late 2004, FDA approval of Intrinsa, a testosterone patch for low female
sex drive, seemed imminent. News reports heralded Intrinsa as a “Viagra for
her,” suggesting that it would citrate sildenafil ups sexual health for women just
as erectile dysfunction pills had for men.
Except an FDA advisory panel saw things differently. Finding numerous
problems with the evidence for the drug’s effectiveness and safety, experts on
the panel voted against approving it. Procter & Gamble, the company
responsible for Intrinsa, withdrew its application. Procter & Gamble is a
WebMD sponsor.
Now the frontrunner in the race to market the first prescription drug for
low female sex drive is Boehringher-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals. It has a drug
called flibanserin in phase III clinical trials, the final phase of drug
testing required for FDA approval. The company is a WebMD sponsor.
Flibanserin is a bit mysterious. It is a kind of erectile pill
, but it
hasn’t been approved previously for any use. Boehringher-Ingelheim is saying
little publicly about the drug. The company declined WebMD’s request to
interview a company representative, instead issuing a prepared statement. The
statement does not explain how the drug is supposed to work, other than that
“flibanserin is a molecule acting on the central nervous system and is not
a hormone product.”
Another drug, called bremelanotide, is in development for low female sex
drive and male erectile dysfunction at the same time. Both potential uses are
being tested in phase II clinical trials, which are early studies to assess how
well a drug works and how safe it is.
Citrate pfizer sildenafil is a new chemical created in the laboratory. It’s given in the
form of a nasal spray, and it acts on the central nervous system.
“It’s actually working in a region of the brain called the cure dysfunction erectile,
which is known to be involved in sexual arousal in both men and women,”
says Carl Spana, PhD, CEO of Palatin Technologies, the company researching
bremelanotide.
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