Post by Dave on Jun 17, 2010 23:20:59 GMT -5
FDA Readies for Fight Over 'Female Viagra'
Critics Say Flibanserin, an Antidepressant, Has Limited Effectiveness and Medicalizes Women's Sexuality
Pharmaceutical companies have been on an endless quest for an female equivalent to Viagra, which launched in 1998, and many believe flibanserin holds promise for women who believe they've been left behind.
Boehringer Ingelheim came upon the possibilities of flibanserin when it was tested as an antidepressant and yielded some desirable side effects -- it made sex more pleasurable for women and seemed to increase their libido.
If the FDA's panel of experts approves flibanserin Friday, the drug company gets some fringe benefits too -- an estimated $2 billion in profits, equal or greater than annual sales of the three top men's sex drugs, Viagra, Levitra and Cialis, according to a story in The New York Times.
Story Continues at:
abcnews.go.com/Health/ReproductiveHealth/food-drug-administration-considers-approval-female-viagra-flibanserin/story?id=10940368
Dare I go out in the streets? My wife's advice was, "Go, but don't speak to any young, pretty women."
"Why not?" I said.
"What would you say to them?"
"I forget," I said.
"That's what I mean," she said. "You'll embarrass yourself."