8 Medical Experts Evaluate the Female Viagra Sex Drug

The FDA has approved the first female libido drug, from Sprout Pharmaceuticals called flibanserin. Many women who suffer from sexual dysfunction and lack of sexual desire are in support of the pill but critics worry that hard side effects may be a major concern.

Little Pink Pill Works on Your Brain

Unlike Viagra, which affects blood flow to the genitals, this pill works on the brain. It was originally invented to sell the testosterone patch, according to experts, but women who have low libido can be caused by many different things, including medications, birth control and antidepressants.

Researchers have been aware for many years that female sexual desire actually stems from the brain, which makes female desire or sexual disorders so difficult to treat. This complexity of where desire stems from and how it's manifested may not simply be solved by a little pink pill. Studies have named three main neurotransmitters or love hormone triggers: adrenaline, dopamine and serotonin. 

The drug would be taken once per day at bedtime but it's not deemed as a hormonal supplement.

How will they know it will work? The drugmaker is utilizing a scale called the Female Sexual Function Index where women are questioned on their sexual desire or interest and answer based on a five-point scale ranging from never --> always.

According to the International Journal of Women's Health, 1 in 10 women suffer from HSDD and there are no medical treatments available.

Not everyone thinks flibanserin should be approved. 

The drug, which is supposed to treat hypoactive sexual desire disorder, has already been rejected twice. Medical experts who oppose its approval argue flibanserin’s results are not very encouraging, and that the drug has undesirable side effects like dizziness and sleepiness.

Here are 8 medical experts take on the new female sex drug: 

·        “I am very opposed to the drug and have been since it first went to the FDA in 2010 and it was rejected. Then it was rejected a second time. The drug hasn’t changed, the data hasn’t changed, and my opinion hasn’t changed. I think it’s a disaster. It’s unsafe and it doesn’t work. That is all a drug is supposed to do. Work and be safe. The third strike is the illegitimate means by which the company [Sprout Pharmaceuticals] tried to distract the FDA by honing in on this completely erroneous accusation of sexism. The campaign is totally inappropriate.”
—Leonore Tiefer, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine.

·        “Flibanserin is a game changer for women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder. I see it as one of the top health innovations for the coming year.”
—Dr. Holly Thacker, women’s health specialist at Cleveland Clinic.

·        “Women who have been treated for cancer often experience a loss of sexual desire as an unwelcome and surprising long-term side effect. Many survivors will greet flibanserin with enthusiasm and high hopes.

·        But we need rigorous, independent research to separate the hype from the benefit and to ensure that we can recommend this drug with confidence.”
—Andrea Bradford, assistant professor of gynecologic oncology and reproductive medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

·        “To approve this drug will set the worst kind of precedent — that companies that spend enough money can force the F.D.A. to approve useless or dangerous drugs.”
—Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman of Georgetown University told the FDA committee in June.

·        “This one is not a fabulous drug, but it would be nice to have it. It’s for someone else to decide if nausea is worth more libido,”
—Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, a clinical professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive services at Yale School of Medicine told TIME.

·        “With such a substantial placebo effect and a very small benefit of the drug, is flibanserin safe enough to justify approval? We would say no.”
—Christina Silcox, PhD senior fellow at the National Center for Health Research in FDA testimony.

·        “It’s exciting we’ll have this in our armorarium… but we all wish it was a better drug.”
—Dr. Amy Whitaker, FDA panel member and assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Chicago.

·        “Currently, there is no drug available in the U.S. for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), and clinicians and patients are very interested in having access to an approved medication. Once the drug is available to clinicians and patients, the role of the drug in the treatment of HSDD will be better clarified.”
—Dr. Bob Barbieri, chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.