the effectiveness of the drug was not sufficient to justify the potential risks

Despite all the media hype about the arrival of the new 'female Viagra' it looks like women will have to carry on waiting. Boehringer Ingelhein who submitted their new drug flibanserin to The FDA Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee was disappointed when the voting unanimously rejected it.

Flibanserin which is supposed to boost female sexual desire has been extensively tested by Boehringer Ingelhein but the FDA felt that the effectiveness of the drug was not sufficient to justify the potential risks. Professor Julia Johnson who headed the FDA panel explained that the clinical evidence had not proven the safety or effectiveness of flibanserin.

Flibanserin, which should it have been approved would have been called Girosa, works by acting on the part of the brain which controls levels of sexual desire. Flibanserin has not been approved for prescription or sale by any health authority worldwide. The FDA was also concerned that flibanserin may cause depression and dizziness side effects. 

A lot of the hype around female Viagra is to do with the fact that the pharmaceutical industry estimates it to be worth well over £1 billion and any drug company that came up with something which was instantly effective would hit the jackpot.

At present there is only one prescription medication to treat female sexual dysfunction in the United Kingdom. Intrinsa which is manufactured by Proctor & Gamble is a prescription medication which has been proven to be safe and effective by the relevant medical authorities in the UK. 

Intrinsa works by releasing tiny amounts of testosterone into the bloodstream which many post menopausal women lack. Despite popular opinion testosterone is not only required for good sexual health in men but also in lower quantities in women.

Intrinsa is also sometimes called the female Viagra but in reality it functions in a completely different way to erectile dysfunction medications and is more about increasing sexual desire and libido rather than boosting sexual function.