FDA Panel Votes in Favor of ‘Female Viagra’

An FDA advisory panel on Thursday voted 18 to 6 in support of approving a drug that would help to increase libido in women who lack sexual desire.

The panel said the drug, flibanserin, should be approved if measures are taken to deal with side effects, the New York Times reports. The FDA will use the panel’s decision as a recommendation.

Flibanserin, which is owned by Sprout Pharmaceuticals, has been rejected by the FDA in the past. The drug is meant for women with low sexual desire, specifically Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD), and many advocates for the drug’s approval have argued that women don’t have any drugs to treat sexual dysfunction while men have several. The FDA has had previous concerns about the drug’s side effects, which include nausea, sleepiness and, in rare cases, low blood pressure and fainting.

The drug is thought to work by targeting neurotransmitters in the brain involved with sexual desire. It temporarily lowers serotonin levels and raises the levels of dopamine and norepinephrine.

Some have argued that its benefit is slight. “I think it would be nice if a drug like this could work, having better sex is important to my patients,” Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, a clinical professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive services at Yale School of Medicine, told TIME on Monday. “The earlier results showed it definitely increased desire, but the benefit was not overwhelming enough.”

But those who lack sexual desire said it’s worth it. Thursday’s meeting included about two hours of public testimony. Katherine Campbell, a married mother from Indiana who has not yet tried out the drug, said “critics say the improvement might only be modest, but oh what I would give for even a modest improvement.”

Whether the drug will receive approval is yet to be seen.

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