US approves first pill to boost female libido

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first prescription drug designed to boost sexual desire in women, a milestone long sought by a pharmaceutical industry eager to replicate the blockbuster success of impotence drugs for men.

But stringent safety measures on the daily pill called Addyi mean it will probably never achieve the sales of Viagra, which has generated billions of dollars since the late 1990s.

The drug’s label will bear a warning — the most serious type — alerting doctors and patients to the risks of dangerously low blood pressure and fainting, especially when the pill is combined with alcohol.

The same problems can occur when combined with other commonly-prescribed medications, including antifungals used to treat yeast infections.

“Patients and prescribers should fully understand the risks associated with the use of Addyi before considering treatment,” said Dr Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s drug centre.

Under an FDA-imposed safety plan, doctors will only be able to prescribe Addyi after completing an online certification process that requires counseling patients about the risks.

Pharmacists will also need certification.

Opponents of the drug say it’s not worth the side effects, which also include nausea, drowsiness and dizziness. They point out that the FDA rejected the drug twice, in 2010 and 2013, due to these risks.

“This is not a drug you take an hour before you have sex.

You have to take it for weeks and months in order to see any benefit at all,” said Leonore Tiefer, a psychologist and sex therapist who organised a petition last month calling on the FDA to reject the drug.

Patients should stop taking the drug after eight weeks if they do not see any improvement, notes the FDA release.

Sprout Pharmaceutical’s drug is intended to treat women who report emotional stress due to a lack of libido.

The FDS decision represents a compromise of sorts between two camps that have publicly feuded over the drug for years.

The drug, to be launched in October, is the first to act on brain chemicals that affect mood and appetite.

Company trials showed women taking the drug generally reported one extra “sexually satisfying event” per month, and scored higher on questionnaires measuring desire.