The experimental drug flibanserin, made by Sprout Pharmaceuticals, is at the center of a regulatory controversy.; Credit: Allen Breed/AP
For the third time since 2010, a little pink pill that purports to increases sexual desire in women is up for approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA will make its ruling Tuesday as to whether the drug ‘flibanserin’ will be approved for sale in the U.S. Often (incorrectly) referrred to as ‘female Viagra,’ flibanserin has been a topic of controversy since it first became public. Health professionals are divided on the drug’s potential effectiveness and the severity of its side effects.
Guests:
Dr. Walid Gellad, associate professor of medicine and co-director of the Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Gellad voted to approve flibanserin when he sat on an FDA advisory panel reviewing the drug back in June
Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman, associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at the Georgetown University Medical Center and director of PharmedOut, a program that studies pharmaceutical industry marketing