via Flickr’s Dana GravesGerman drug maker Boehringer Ingelheim announced on Friday that it had stopped work on a pill for low libido in women, or a ‘female Viagra’ drug as it’s commonly called. Our involved writing about this drug takes a middle-of-the road analysis to the research results.

We don’t embrace Leonore Tiefer’s unyielding stance on the pursuit of a female version of Viagra: “The discontinuation of clinical research on flibanserin represents a victory for the F.D.A. and the public, and the latest travesty in the decade-long hunt for a so-called ‘pink Viagra’. The agency asked for more data on safety and efficacy and the company responded that they lack the resources for such research. This confirms that Boehringer-Ingelheim was always more invested in marketing than science.” via NYTimes

Boehringer’s Uniquely American Results

Those comments ignore the reality that there was a significant increase in the number of ‘sexualy satisfying events’ from study participants taking the flibanserin.’ Our recommendation for FDA non-approval is focused on the reality that the biggest results came from American women, compared to European women, suggesting that besides the universal placebo-effect at play in the research results, American women responded particularly well.

Americans believe that a drug cures everything, which may explain our improved results versus European women.

We argue that cultural and health factors are also in play. European sexuality isn’t as drenched in respectability and morality issues as American sexuality. Aging women are revered in Europe. And obesity isn’t nearly the libido-challenge in Europe that it is in America.

Losing weight is one of the best “pink Viagras” available for reasons of both self-esteem and health-related conditions like improved blood flow to sex organs. How can women not feel sexual guilt in a country whose legislators are actually trying to make miscarriage a criminal offense? (Utah and more to come) In the US where women believe we have peaked at 28 and we’re downhill after that, it’s totally understandable that we lose our libidos and eat ourselves to death.

It’s our view that taking pills should be a last resort for women who want to ignite sexual desire. But we don’t celebrate the end of Boehringer Ingelheim’s research and abandonment of a “pink Viagra”, as many health professionals do. Anne

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