Our top story looks at Flibanserin or Addyi, the new sexual dysfunction drug approved for women by the FDA. NPR’s On the Media did a great piece on the marketing machine behind this new pink pill.
The FDA asked Sprout Pharmacutical for more information on the drugs efficacy and how it interacts with alcohol. The drug, which was sold for $1 billion the day after the FDA approval has not been able to show conclusively how it works. Though the marketing campaign has convinced Americans that it is the counterpart to Viagra, a sexual disfunction drug for me, there are some big difference:
- Viagra is taken before sex, Addyi is taken daily
- Viagra works by increasing blood flow to the penis, Addyi supposiby increases dopemine levels in the female brain
- Concerns about interactions between alcohol and Addyi are unknown, since participants in the study threw up and were unable to complete the trial, so the drug company completed the trial using male participants.
Last week, Flibanserin — or “Addyi” — became the first FDA-approved drug aimed at treating sexual dysfunction in women, quickly picking up the nickname: “the female Viagra.” But that’s not quite right. And though it’s been marketed as a long overdue triumph for sexual equality, there are plenty of skeptics. Seeking to understand the nebulous world of prescription drugs and female desire.
http://www.onthemedia.org/story/little-pink-pill/
Even the Score’s ad:
Brooke Gladstone spoke this week with:
- Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League, Member of Even the Score
- Thea Cacchioni, Assistant Professor in Women’s Studies at the University of Victoria
- Dr. Susan F. Wood, Director of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health at George Washington University, former Assistant Commissioner for Women’s Health at the FDA
- Dr. Sheryl Kingsberg, clinical psychologist and Professor at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine
- Dr. Lori Brotto, Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of British Columbia