The libido-enhancing drug approved by an FDA advisory panel acts slowly on the brain to increase desire—not quickly on the mechanics of the sexual act
…Viagra does not affect the desire for sex in men, it just helps with the hydraulics. … Food and Drug Administration advisory panel this week will not live up to the “female Viagra” hype it’s been getting. The new drug, Flibanserin, is designed to alter women’s brain chemistry over time to help increase sex drive.
…Exactly how many women experience it has been hard to pin down—one study suggests as many as one in three women, although the pharmaceutical company producing the drug told the FDA advisory panel that about 7 percent of premenopausal women have the condition, according to The New York Times. Women with the condition may still enjoy sex when they are having it but typically do not have the desire to engage in sex in the first place.
Whereas Viagra is a little blue pill men would take directly before sex to help direct that blood flow, Flibanserin needs to be taken daily.
…Other drugs on the market target some aspects of sex for women, such as helping treat vaginal dryness, but none have been approved for treating low female sexual arousal. … Several other antidepressants are currently prescribed off-label to treat sexual desire disorders but some of those drugs have can cause unwanted side effects such as irregular heartbeat or shortness of breath.
…The FDA advisory panel that voted on June 4 to recommend approval of the drug did not discount those risks.