US FDA approves world's first Viagra for women

Washington, August 19: In what could help millions of women suffering from low sexual desire globally, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the world’s first “female Viagra” to treat acquired and generalised hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in premenopausal women. med Addyi (also known as flibanserin), the 100 mg “pink Viagra” can be taken once daily at bedtime. “Patients should discontinue treatment after eight weeks if they do not report an improvement in sexual desire and associated distress,” FDA said in a statement released on August 18. Prior to Addyi’s approval, there were no FDA-approved treatments for sexual desire disorders in men or women.

“The approval provides women distressed by their low sexual desire with an approved treatment option,” said Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Centre for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER).

HSDD is characterised by low sexual desire that causes marked distress or interpersol difficulty and is not due to a co-existing medical or psychiatric condition, problems within the relationship, or the effects of a medication or other drug substance. HSDD is acquired when it develops in a patient who previously had no problems with sexual desire. HSDD is generalised when it occurs regardless of the type of sexual activity, the situation or the sexual partner.

The 100-mg bedtime dose of Addyi has been administered to about 3,000 generally healthy premenopausal women with acquired, generalised HSDD in clinical trials. (IANS)