Ladies, we’re worth it! Gimme, gimme Addyi, the brand name for flibanserin, the “lady” version of Viagra. Just two days after flibanserin received FDA approval back in August, Valeant Pharmaceuticals purchased flibanserin for $1 billion. There were critics out there – including many women- who didn’t think the new drug was “worth it.” The drug failed to gain FDA approval twice which prompted a lobbying campaign to press for its approval. We get it. The drug can’t treat a lot of women suffering from low libido like Viagra can help vast numbers of men suffering from erectile dysfunction. But, that doesn’t call for hatin’ on addyi. As the first drug of its kind to treat hypoactive sexual desire disorder in pre-menopausal women, flibanserin has shined the light on our sexual issues, which can usher in a whole host of new drugs for women, as Viagra has done for men. And, in the end, investors shelled out the big bucks to help women jump start their libido, showing women’s sexual pleasure is worth it.
One billion dollars represents a big return for Sprout, the developer of flibanserin, and its investors, who invested only $100 million into its development. Now under a lot of scrutiny for rapid growth based on aggressive deal-making to acquire specialty pharmacies, Valeant plans to keep the small, 34-person Sprout team intact and build a women’s health business. Ladies, this is a company to keep our eyes on.
Introduced on to pharmacy shelves October 17th, Addyi will set you back around $400/month, if you don’t have insurance. It has to be taken daily and may interact with your birth control and cocktail hour so do some research and talk to your provider. But, not only do investors believe your sex drive is worth it, so do insurance companies. Anthem Inc., the third-largest health insurer in the country, announced they would cover Addyi at the same coverage as they cover drugs like Viagra and Cialis (meaning you’ll have a co-pay ranging $30 – $75).
Ladies, we might have to switch up our insurance companies to get our sexual desire straight!
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photo courtesy of theaustrailian.com.au