It’s a potential $2 billion dollar a year windfall, and a potential cure for a common problem among women.  German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim has announced the discovery of a Viagra-style drug for women, designed to increase the libido of women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder.  Unfortunately for the company, they’re facing an uphill battle with the Food and Drug Administration, who say the pill’s benefits aren’t enough to counterbalance its daily use and its side-effects, which include fatigue, nausea, and dizziness.

“This is really a classic case of disease branding,” said Adriane Fugh-Berman, a professor at Georgetown University’s medical school who studies drug marketing.  “The messages are aimed at medicalizing normal conditions and also preying on the insecurity of both the clinician and the patient.”  So, basically, she’s claiming the company is pushing the same kind of hormone pills that women have received for menopause for, oh, 20 years now, and folk remedies to increase sexual arousal for, oh, thousands of years now.

Image:  Viagra by UnaBlasfema

Tags: female Viagra, Viagra for women, Germany pharmaceutical company discovers viagra for women, FDA, weird science, unusual medical news, Boehringer Ingelheim, sexual health, hypoactive sexual desire disorder, Adriane Fugh-Berman, Georgetown University

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