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A few months ago we reported that flibanserin, the “female Viagra” with an astoundingly un-arousing name, could be on the verge of approval pending a few tweaks to remedy its concerning side-effects.
Well, those tweaks weren’t really made – but it’s been approved anyway.
The drug is the first of its kind to treat a lack of female sexual desire and was cleared for sale yesterday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after two previous applications were rejected.
Many people aren’t convinced flibanserin’s benefits outweigh the side effects, and 13% of women stopped taking it because they deemed the repercussions too troublesome. Or because it didn’t do anything at all.
Side effects include drowsiness, dizziness, extremely low blood pressure, and fainting, which is not ideal for sex.
“I think it’s a disaster. It’s unsafe and it doesn’t work. That is all a drug is supposed to do,” Leonore Tiefer, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine told TIME.
The other side of the argument is… questionable: “Currently, there is no drug available in the U.S. for the treatment of HSDD, and clinicians and patients are very interested in having access to an approved medication,” says Dr. Bob Barbieri, chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
“It’s all we’ve got” and “it’s been approved, so there’s that” aren’t assuring endorsements from a doctor.
Flibanserin will be sold under the brand name ADDYI by Sprout Pharmaceuticals, which played a major role in supporting a campaign to approve the drug on account of it being the only sexual dysfunction treatment for women. Twenty-six drugs of this purpose exist for men.
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