While AASECT members gathered in Minneapolis for the 47th annual conference, a different group of people gathered to discuss the fate of flibanserin, the pharmaceutical industry's answer to the question: when will women have their own version of Viagra?
For quite some time now, a debate has been raging over the fate of flibanserin, a drug meant to treat female sexual dysfunction. On one side of the debate are those who feel that the lack of a drug for female sexual dysfunction is indicative of sexual discrimination by the FDA. On the other side are those who feel that the pharmaceutical industry's medicalization of symptoms that represent common experiences for women only serve to make those same women feel inferior in the bedroom.
An FDA advisory panel has finally voted to approve flibanserin, though the agency does not necessarily have to follow the panel's recommendation. During the committee meeting, members looked for evidence that flibanserin is safe for women taking antidepressants, and also looked into the possibility that the medication might impair next-day driving. These possible risks have contributed to two votes since 2010 against approving the drug.
Flibanserin will be reviewed again by the FDA in August. You can read more here.
