Boehringer stops Female Viagra drug After FDA's Safety report

Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH abandoned development of its female Viagra like drug “flibanserin” after the FDA said the pill wasn’t proven to be safe and effective enough to be given to the public.

Boehringer is still convinced flibanserin would have helped women, Chief Executive OfficerAndreas Barner said in an e- mailed statement today. “The decision was not made lightly, considering the advanced stage of development,” he said.

Flibanserin showed promise a year ago with late-stage test results indicating women who took it wanted -- and had -- more sex. Questions arose later about whether its effect was big enough to outweigh potential side effects, including depression, anxiety and fatigue. The FDA panel voted unanimously in June against backing the drug after a review.

The decision by Boehringer, based in the German town of Ingelheim, is the latest in a series of failures by drugmakers to influence women’s libidos. Pfizer Inc. abandoned efforts to adapt Viagra for women in 2004, while Procter & Gamble Co. failed to win regulators’ backing for a testosterone patch.

Libido drugs for women may create an annual market of at least $2 billion, BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc. has estimated.

Boehringer, the world’s biggest family-owned drugmaker, had said flibanserin would drive growth as its prostate drug Flomax and Parkinson’s therapy Mirapex lose patent protection.

The drugmaker said it will still complete the two most advanced patient studies under way with flibanserin, while other research resources will be reallocated to stroke prevention, diabetes and oncology.