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The Food and Drug Administration approved the world’s first drug designed to stir a woman’s waning desire for sex, a condition that affects an estimated one in 10 U.S. women.
The approval of the controversial drug, flibanserin, which the FDA twice rejected before and now will be marketed as Addyi, comes with a series of conditions reflecting the agency’s concerns about serious side effects. These include a boxed warning that highlights the risks of low blood pressure and fainting in patients who drink alcohol while taking the drug, as well as a requirement that doctors complete a training course before being allowed to prescribe it.
Supporters of the drug hailed the decision as an end to what they called “gender bias” at the FDA, giving women more choice and control over their sexual lives. Critics said the approval of what some call a “mediocre aphrodisiac” with significant side effects has now turned the normal range of women’s low sexual desire into a disease, with pharmaceutical companies only too eager to rush in.
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The pill is intended to treat a condition called Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder, or chronic and distressingly low libido in premenopausal women that cannot be explained by factors such as relationship troubles, stress, or medical or psychological issues.
Read full, original post: FDA approves controversial drug for women with low sex drives
