The drug flibanserin, approved
last year by the US Food and Drug Administration to boost sexual desire in
women who are entering the menopause, has limited benefits and produces
negative effects.
Hypoactive sexual desire
disorder (HSDD), also known as female sexual interest/arousal disorder, affects
10-40% of women.
HSDD is defined as
"persistently or recurrently deficient (or absent) sexual fantasies and
desire for sexual activity," accompanied by "marked distress and
interpersonal difficulty" that does not stem from a non-sexual mental
disorder, medication, relationship stress or
another medical condition.
Flibanserin - dubbed the
"female Viagra" - was approved last year
by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a high-profile decision
that attracted attention from the public and health professionals alike.
Added to safety issues were
concerns about the medicalization of women's sexuality. It was unclear whether
the benefits were worth the risks, and questions were raised about the
influence of the pharmaceutical lobby on FDA decisions.
Sprout Pharmaceuticals
purchased the rights to flibanserin after the FDA originally rejected it. They
aroused support, including helping to create and fund the "Even the
Score" advocacy campaign. The campaign claimed that sexism had motivated
the rejection, rather than scientific evidence.
Within 48 hours of FDA
approval, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, of which Sprout was a division, purchased
the rights to flibanserin for about $1 billion in cash.
Dr. Loes Jaspers, of the
Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and coauthors
carried out a meta-analysis of the records of clinical trials for 5,914 women.
Resource: - http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/307186.php
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