{"id":16261,"date":"2015-11-04T08:22:09","date_gmt":"2015-11-04T15:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.accessrx.com\/blog\/?p=16261"},"modified":"2015-11-04T08:22:09","modified_gmt":"2015-11-04T15:22:09","slug":"with-addyi-many-see-the-need-to-proceed-with-caution-m1009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/current-health-news\/with-addyi-many-see-the-need-to-proceed-with-caution-m1009\/","title":{"rendered":"With Addyi, Many See the Need to Proceed with Caution"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Addyi
Addyi treats a condition called hypoactive sexual desire disorder.<\/figcaption><\/figure> The drug flibanserin, which will be sold under the trade name Addyi (rhymes with \u201cpaddy\u201d), is expected to go on sale sometime in October.<\/p>\n

It took three tries to gain US Food and Drug Administration approval for Addyi, and the recommendation to grant approval was opposed by six of the 24 members of the panel of FDA approvers. The main concern voiced by those opposed to approval was that the drug simply doesn\u2019t work well enough to outweigh what can sometimes be serious risks.<\/p>\n

At some point in its evolution, flibanserin acquired the nickname \u201cfemale Viagra,\u201d or sometimes \u201cpink Viagra.\u201d But Addyi affects brain chemicals and must be taken regularly, long term, while drugs like Viagra can be taken as needed and work on circulation hydraulics rather than neurotransmitters. Enthusiasm<\/a> for Addyi has been tempered by medical and social concerns.<\/p>\n

Does Addyi Pathologize Women Who Don\u2019t Fulfill Sexual Norms?<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to University of Victoria Sociology and Women\u2019s Studies professor Thea Cacchioni, it wasn\u2019t until recently that sex manuals even addressed a female audience. From medieval times until approximately the middle of the 20th<\/sup> century, sex manuals were written for men<\/a> who wanted to improve their sexual skills.<\/p>\n

But by the 1950s, the focus shifted toward women, with \u201chelpful\u201d books on how women could hold onto their husbands by learning to experience desire and pleasure, lack of which was the fault of the women themselves. Cacchioni worries that pills like Addyi could add to the feeling some women have that sex is a \u201cchore,\u201d telling The National Post<\/em>, \u201cI do think there will be a lot of partners who will think, \u2018Oh, I don\u2019t need to try anything different. I don\u2019t need to put my own work into this. I can encourage her to get a prescription from her doctor and that will solve everything.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Stephen Colbert: \u201cPerfect for the Happy, Sexless Marriage\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even late night television host Stephen Colbert<\/a> weighed in with a humorous take on what Addyi means in 21st<\/sup> century America. He starts by noting the amazing medical advances being made in the science of \u201cbonerology\u201d \u2013 namely drugs like Viagra. Then, after giving the standard definition of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (lack of sexual desire that is not due to relationship troubles), he pronounces Addyi as \u201cperfect for anyone who\u2019s in a happy, sexless marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colbert also mentions perhaps the biggest catch that goes along with taking Addyi: the fact that you have to abstain from alcohol while taking it. Addyi is taken every day, long term. \u201cDate night is back, ladies,\u201d he says. \u201cPour yourself a big glass of wine, and then pour it down the sink.\u201d But, he concludes, it\u2019s OK, \u201cbecause nothing gets you in the mood like staring at your longtime partner stone-cold sober.\u201d Which brings us to detractors\u2019 biggest safety concern.<\/p>\n

Women Taking Addyi Must Abstain from Alcohol<\/strong><\/p>\n

The FDA would not approve Addyi until Sprout Pharmaceuticals provided study information on how Addyi affects driving and how alcohol interacts with the drug. Doctors who want to prescribe the drug must warn women not to drink while they\u2019re on it, and they have to go through an online educational program about the drug and pass an online test to be certified to prescribe it. Pharmacies that want to dispense it have to be certified as well.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a big deal that the target population for Addyi \u2013 premenopausal women \u2013 includes a sizeable proportion of drinkers, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that among non-pregnant women ages 18 to 44, about half<\/a> reported drinking alcohol within the past 30 days, and approximately 15% reported binge drinking at least once during the past 30 days. Will this end up being a deal-breaker for women? We\u2019ll have to wait and find out.<\/p>\n

One (Male) Doctor\u2019s Opinion<\/strong><\/p>\n

In The Grand Junction (Colorado) Free Press<\/em><\/a>, Phil Mohler, MD says he thinks people are being misled by the marketing hype surrounding the drug. For one thing, Addyi is expected to sell for around $400 per month, which is almost as much<\/a> as the average new car loan payment. Will women find this price fair for the typical one additional \u201csexually satisfying event\u201d per month the studies of flibanserin noted?<\/p>\n

He also emphasizes that Addyi is not \u201cfemale Viagra,\u201d because it is \u201cabout brain juices and desire, not blood hydraulics and performance like Viagra.\u201d Plus he says it\u2019s disingenuous to think that the average person is going to completely separate sex and alcohol. Mohler acknowledges that there are \u201cabsolutely\u201d gender inequalities in medicine, but, he says, Addyi is not the answer.<\/p>\n

Another Male Doctor Weighs In<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another doctor, writing in the National Catholic Register<\/em><\/a>, has a more positive take on Addyi. OBGYN Patrick Beeman says that many women are motivated to seek a solution for low libido because of \u201cthat particular feminine sensitivity to what lies deeply in the nature of marital sexuality itself: namely, mutual self-gift.\u201d He states that using the drug to \u201cforce women to do something against their will\u201d would be wrong, however.<\/p>\n

\"Catholic
Catholic OBGYN Patrick Beeman believes Addyi has a place in loving, committed marital relationships.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beeman believes the drug for this market is strong partly because \u201cfemininity quite naturally tends toward giving and caring.\u201d In other words, women love their partners and are willing to ask doctors to prescribe drugs that will make them more receptive and assertive sexually. He thinks that men tend to seek treatment for sexual dysfunction not out of chivalry, but to boost their own sexual satisfaction. He concludes that \u201cjust because there\u2019s money to be made doesn\u2019t mean there isn\u2019t real, authentic love to be made too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does Buyout of Sprout Pharmaceuticals Hint Addyi Will Be a Blockbuster?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The amount of money to be made could be considerable, and nobody believes that more than Valeant Pharma, which announced in late August that a wholly-owned subsidiary of Valeant would acquire Sprout Pharmaceuticals<\/a> on a debt-free basis for approximately $1 billion cash, plus shares of future profits based on achievement of certain financial milestones. The company plans to leverage its global scale in order to register flibanserin internationally.<\/p>\n

Some people may call Addyi \u201cfemale Viagra,\u201d but don\u2019t expect it to be advertised during NFL games. The drug comes with many caveats, and until it\u2019s actually made available, there\u2019s no knowing if it will be as big as its status of first prescription drug aimed at treating female sexual dysfunction would lead people to believe. It won\u2019t be until later in the year that we\u2019ll learn whether women believe that paying $400 per month and giving up alcohol is a price they\u2019re willing to pay for the possibility of increased sexual desire.<\/p>\n

eDrugstore.com<\/a> keeps up with the latest in pharmaceutical lifestyle medications, and offers a range of name brand prescription drugs at competitive prices, with unparalleled convenience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The drug flibanserin, which will be sold under the trade name Addyi (rhymes with \u201cpaddy\u201d), is expected to go on sale sometime in October. It took three tries to gain US Food and Drug Administration approval for Addyi, and the recommendation to grant approval was opposed by six of the 24 members of the panel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16263,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_autoblog_aioseo_focus_keyphrase":"","_autoblog_aioseo_title":"","_autoblog_aioseo_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[597,588],"class_list":["post-16261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-health-news","tag-hsdd","tag-hypoactive-sexual-desire-disorder"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t