In this Friday, Sept. 27, 2013, file photo, a tablet of flibanserin sits on a brochure for Sprout Pharmaceuticals in the company’s Raleigh, N.C., headquarters. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed, File)
Liz Szabo, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON (USA Today) — The drug makers of a “little pink pill” touted as a boost for female sexual desire will learn its fate Tuesday when the Food and Drug Administration decides whether to approve the drug as a treatment for low libido in women.
Depending on your point of view, the pill, flibanserin — popularly, but incorrectly, dubbed the “female Viagra” — is either the answer to a woman’s prayers or a risky drug that turns a normal condition into a medical problem that only pharmaceuticals can solve. It will be FDA’s third consideration of flibanserin in five years. The agency has twice rejected the drug since 2010.
This time around, the drug benefits from a major public relations push from an advocacy group, Even the Score, which is supported by flibanserin’s manufacturer, Sprout Pharmaceuticals of Raleigh, N.C. High-profile supporters include the National Organization for Women and 11 members of Congress who wrote to the FDA on flibanserin’s behalf.
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