Ineffectiveness and side effects of Addyi, the female desire pill
In October 2015, a new drug was introduced to treat sexual dysfunction in women with a lack of sexual desire. The drug Addyi (flibanserin) was supposed to be the new “Viagra” for women, restoring women”s pleasure from sexual desire.
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While this would solve the problem for many families, Addyi has been found to only help 10-20% of women and can only restore sexual desire after a few weeks of use. Unproductivity and a host of side effects have made the newly created “desire pill” one of the most undesirable drugs offered to increase female libido.
First test disappointment
The drug, branded Addyi, was originally developed as an antidepressant, but the drug failed to improve mood in a group of people tested. However, some participants noticed positive changes in their interest in sex.
Flibanserin has been found to increase dopamine levels in the brain, which is responsible for our sexual desire. As a result, the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, the creator of the drug Eddy, began testing it to see if it could treat low libido in women.
Here, however, the first tests were not successful. Two groups of women kept a diary in which they noted changes associated with sexual desire. One group received Addyi and the other received a placebo. The difference in results was small, but the first drug produced side effects including fainting, dizziness, drowsiness and low blood pressure with the possibility of lethargy.
After analyzing Eddie”s benefits and risks, the FDA committee unanimously refused to approve the drug for mass production.
Continued failures
Following the negative FDA decision, Boehringer Ingelheim sponsored further studies of flibanserin aimed at increasing sexual desire in women. However, during testing, only 10-20% of subjects reported that Addyi increased their libido, with some women reporting a slight increase in sexual satisfaction.
Once again, Addyi”s side effects added new problems. Symptoms of low blood pressure, fainting, dizziness, drowsiness and worsening reactions were found to be worsened by the use of alcohol and deicers.
This was a damning result, since 10 million Americans take birth control and half the population drinks alcohol. These conditions increased the risk of injury and death when women drove. This is due to the fact that women may simply fall asleep at the wheel.
Read also: Sexuality according to Freud. Psychology of female and male sexuality
The psychology of sexuality has not been fully studied by people, but the behavior of men and women born since ancient times, when people could hardly be called human. V.
Due to the combination”s low efficacy and side effects, the FDA committee called for Addyi to be approved for a second time. During this period, Boehringer Ingelheim lost its nerve and the company sold the patent to Sprout Pharmaceuticals, abandoning flibanserin.
Lobbying for the drug
The first venture, Sprout Pharmaceuticals, focused its financial efforts on promoting edible drugs into the legal drug category. To do this, the company hired lobbyist Audrey Shepherd, who once headed the FDA”s women”s health division, to influence the FDA committee”s decision. She published a petition online and collected 40, 000 signatures.
Viagra for women! the whole truth
Opposition influence
Sprot Pharmaceuticals made waves, sparking a movement of women”s activists against it. Many groups believed that the drug approval process was simply making fun of a product under the guise of addressing women”s sexual health problems. All this is misleading. In particular, we are talking about the unequal availability of drugs that increase sexual desire.
Opponents of Addyi responded to Sprout by saying that there are certainly many drugs for men, but they are all drugs for erectile dysfunction and do not restore sexual desire. In men, an erection precedes desire and sex; women do not need an erection for sexual intercourse, which is due to physiology. So just because men get treatment for a problem doesn”t mean women should do the same just to bring equality.
Bottom line
The entire lobbying process for Addyi was so strong and competent that the third FDA committee approved the drug for mass production by an 18-6 vote. For three years, the very expensive drug Flibanserin was distributed in pharmacies, but since the first trials its behavior has not improved and the side effects have not disappeared.
There is great demand for “female Viagra” in Egypt. Does fire extinguish the fire of desire? (Raseef22, Lebanon).
