Why would the FDA ap­prove an­oth­er con­tro­ver­sial drug to spur a woman’s li­bido with these da­ta? And why no ex­pert pan­el re­view?

AM­AG Phar­ma­ceu­ti­cals’ new­ly ap­proved drug for spurring women’s sex­u­al de­sire may nev­er make much mon­ey, but it’s a big hit at spark­ing me­dia at­ten­tion.

The ther­a­py — Vyleesi (breme­lan­otide) — got the green light from reg­u­la­tors on Fri­day evening, swift­ly light­ing up a range of sto­ries around the world, from The New York Times to The Guardian. Sev­er­al head­lines in­evitably re­ferred to it as the “fe­male Vi­a­gra,” in­vok­ing Pfiz­er’s old erec­tile dys­func­tion block­buster.

But the two drugs have lit­tle in com­mon.

This article is available only to Premium subscribers

Upgrade to Premium for unlimited access and Premium exclusives.

UPGRADE LOG IN