Is ‘female Viagra’ on the way?..

A DRUG dubbed the ‘female Viagra’ is to be approved by a US watchdog this week – paving the way for its arrival in Europe.

Industry experts claim flibanserin could be given the green light within days, making it the first officially sanctioned drug for low female sex drive on the market.

Unlike its male equivalent, the drug combats a flagging libido not by targeting the genitals but the pleasure centre of a woman’s brain, with women who took the pill every day in trials having sex more frequently and enjoying it more. However, the drug has been plagued by safety fears.

Large-scale trials by manufacturers Sprout Pharmaceuticals found the pill – originally created as an antidepressant – was linked to side-effects such as fainting and low blood pressure, nausea, fatigue, drowsiness and insomnia. Critics have also pointed out that low female libido stems from psychological as much as physical factors. Despite previously rejecting flibanserin twice because of these side-effects, the US Food and Drug Administration is now expected to give the drug the goahead as a treatment for hypoactive sexual desire disorder – a persistent lack of sexual desire in women.

The FDA’s drug safety advisory committee has already voted in favour of its approval, after saying the benefits outweighed the risks. The US watchdog usually – but not always – follows the decision of its panel of experts. After initial rejections, the FDA came under pressure from women’s organisations who claimed it was guilty of ‘institutionalised sexism’.