The Orgasm Industry.

• Author: Shah, Sonia
• Position: Research to develop aid for women to have orgasms

Drug Companies Search for a Female Viagra

Since the launch of Pfizer's tremendously popular erectile-dysfunction drug Viagra in May 1998, pharmaceutical companies have scrambled to find the next big sex drug for women this time. Start-up pharmaceutical companies and enterprising physicians have jumped into the fray to treat what they see as an underserved market of tens of millions of sexually dysfunctional women.

Feminists tend to bristle at the term "dysfunctional" but acknowledge that many women don't enjoy sex. Some feminists say that women should welcome drug industry products that may provide some relief to those in desperate need of sexual help. Others argue that such products will stigmatize female sexuality and drive women to pop a pill when what they really need are better relationships and more sex education.

"No potion or pill will show you where your clitoris is," says sex writer Susie Bright. "No cream will enlighten you as to your unconscious erotic imagination."

Never mind the ongoing epidemic or sexual violence, spotty access to contraception, and the fact that most women with sexual difficulties say they are too busy and too stressed out to have sex. Pill-pushers with their eyes on the bottom line are eager to gear women up for high-tech sex with new creams, gels, and other products.

While ten million men around the world take Viagra, earning Pfizer $1.3 billion last year, the market for a prescription sex drug for women may be even bigger. According to a much-cited February 1999 article in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 43 percent of all women suffer from sexual dysfunction, as opposed to just 31 percent of all men.

In April 2000, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first product to treat female sexual dysfunction, which it defines as decreased sexual desire, decreased sexual arousal, pain during intercourse, or inability to climax. The FDA-approved product, called EROS, is manufactured by Urometrics, based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It's a glorified vibrator that applies suction to the clitoris. It costs $359 and is sold by prescription only.

Dozens of other products to alleviate female sexual dysfunction, including body creams and even a remote-control device, are currently in clinical trials. Some of these products may make it to market as early as 2004, say drug company spokespersons.

Nastech, a nasal drug company, recently started the second of three Food and Drug Administration-required phases of clinical trials for its apomorphine hydrochloride product for women, which is designed to improve blood flow and lubricating secretions in female genitals. Apomorphine hydrochloride belongs to the family of morphine-derived drugs that includes codeine. The product would come in a small vial with a nasal spray applicator, which women would spritz into their nostrils about twenty minutes before having sex. The company expects to bring the prescription nasal spray to market within a few years.

BioSante Pharmaceuticals expects results from Phase 2 clinical trials of its female sex drug, LibiGel, by this fall. Women would rub LibiGel onto their shoulders or arms, releasing libido-increasing testosterone into their bodies for up...