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medpundit |
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Wednesday, December 01, 2004The Procter & Gamble Co., which is applying for approval of its Intrinsa testosterone patch from the Food and Drug Administration panel, confirmed yesterday that it has asked a medical society that it backs financially to recommend approval. Although the patch has been granted 'fast track' consideration by FDA, some critics have said that side effects have not been sufficiently studied. A New York University psychologist said that the patch is being 'treated like a female Viagra,' even though it causes a fairly drastic change in a woman's hormonal balance. Why on earth would the FDA fast track a lifestyle drug? A drug for a terminal illness or a lethal infection, yes. But a drug that increases sexual appetites? Please. There's no reason to rush this to market without sufficiently exploring its side effects. Not to mention making sure its benefits are real and not a placebo effect. And that bit about requesting that the finanically-beholden International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health lobby for its approval is just appalling. And to think that some drug company executives blame general practitioners for too early and indiscriminate mass use of new drugs. Right. Proctor & Gamble have even created a disorder for their new product: HSDD, or "hypoactive sexual desire disorder." And how, pray tell, do we determine what is classified as hypoactive? Human sexuality runs a broad gamut. It's impossible to classify into normal and abnormal, except at the extremes. Just as it is with any other type of appetite. posted by Sydney on 12/01/2004 08:33:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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