When we reach our 40s and 50s, many women suffer from a flagging libido. The idea of sex after a long day at work or chasing around after the kids can seem unbearable. Fluctuating hormones during perimenopause may leave us exhausted by hot flashes and night sweats. Or maybe we feel uncomfortable about the way our bodies have changed as we age. Low self-esteem is definitely not sexy.
Whatever the reason for our lowered sex drive, it's unlikely that a single pill will be the cure for all women. Yet, drug companies have spent many millions looking for just such a pill, which has been very unscientifically called a female Viagra.
On Friday, June 18, the drug manufacturer Boehringer Ingelheim will present its findings on a drug called flibanserin before an advisory committee of the federal Food and Drug Administration. It's the latest attempt to win approval for a drug aimed at perking up the female libido. Flibanserin was initially tested as an anti-depressant. It didn't appear to be too successful at lifting mood, but it did appear to decrease inhibition and thus slightly increase some women's rate of sexually satisfying experiences.
It will be interesting to see whether the FDA buys this. But no matter how the committee votes, you can be sure that other manufacturers will keep trying to find something to resolve female sexual problems for one reason: the financial rewards to the winner would be huge.
