German Pharma Company Seeks FDA Approval for 'Female Viagra'

Friday, June 18, 2010

the pink pill (flickr: stephenjohnbryde)

Since Viagra hit the market in the 1990s, pharmaceutical companies have been racing to come up with an equivalent drug for women. And one German pharmaceutical company is hoping to win the race. Boehringer Ingelheim, a large German drug company, will go before the  Food and Drug Administration today in hopes of gaining approval for a new pill they believe can increase the female libido. Citing hypoactive sexual desire, the company says their female version of that magic blue pill, can cure women of that disorder.

An FDA staff report on Wednesday argued against approval of the drug, saying it has not sufficiently proven to be successful. And many doctors say drug companies are creating pills for a disorder that does not exist.

We talk with Liz Canner, director and researcher of new documentary, "Orgasm Inc." Cannor will recommend against approval of the drug before the FDA today. We also talk with Dr. Susan Bennett, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Bennett says it is normal for women to feel a depressed level of sexual drive at certain points in their lives, a condition that the medical community should not categorize as a disease or a disorder that requires a pill to be cured.

Guests:

Dr. Susan Bennett and Liz Canner

Produced by:

Arwa Gunja

Comments [1]

Mel from Oklahoma

Female sexuality is very complex and very emotional. I seriously doubt that a pill is going to fix it. I cannot imagine that they did not test the drug on women taking oral contraceptives or anti-depressants already. I feel like that's the group they should have tested on to begin with. Actually both oral contraceptives and anti-depressants are often the culprits.

Jun. 18 2010 11:07 AM

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