WASHINGTON - A pink pill designed to boost sex drive in women -- the latest attempt by the drug industry to find a female equivalent to Viagra -- fell short in two studies, federal health regulators said Wednesday.
The Food and Drug Administration is considering Boehringer Ingelheim's drug flibanserin for premenopausal women who report a lack of sexual desire, a market that drugmakers have been targeting for more than a decade.
The search for so-called "female Viagra" has proved elusive, though.
On Friday the FDA will ask a panel of experts to weigh in on the safety and effectiveness of Boehringer's drug. The agency isn't required to follow the group's advice but often does.
In its review posted online, the FDA said two Boehringer studies failed to show a significant increase in sexual desire, as recorded by women in a daily journal. Women taking the drug reported slightly more sexually satisfying experiences, but the FDA review said that the primary goal was to see whether there was "an overall increase in sexual desire."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
