For the first time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given its blessing to a prescription drug intended to increase sexual desire in women.
The FDA’s green light on the drug flibanserin, often known by the nickname "pink Viagra," reverses two earlier decisions to reject the medication as a treatment for hypoactive sexual desire disorder.
The decision, announced late Tuesday, comes in the wake of a public campaign that has challenged the agency to close a widening gap between the numbers of medications available for men’s sexual health and those available to women.
Flibanserin, which will be marketed as Addyi, is a once-a-day pill for women who are distressed by their low sex drive.