Why is Pfizer leaving out women from the Viagra revolution?

It all started as a laboratory accident. A group of chemists working together at Pfizer’s research facility in Sandwich, Kent, England, were studying a drug that they synthesised for the treatment of high blood pressure and angina pectoris, which is symptomatic of ischaemic heart disease. After conducting their first clinical trials at the Morrison Hospital, Swansea, they found out that that the drug had little effect on angina, but it produced a startling side effect: it induced the erection of the penis of men who were thought to be impotent.

In 1996 the patent of the drug was obtained, with Viagra being subsequently approved for use as a treatment for erectile dysfunction in March 1998 by the Food and Drug Administration. As the first oral treatment for erectile dysfunction, Viagra has gone on to achieve enormous success as an ED drug of choice. Between 1999 and 2001 alone, the annual sales figure of Viagra was over a billion dollars.

And since going on sale, this headline-grabbing drug has being prescribed for millions of men and women, though the latter is only a fraction of the total prescription. Known to increase the flow of blood to both the penis and clitoris, Real Viagra tablets are however not approved for female use.

According to a journalised study: about 43 percent of women experience sexual dysfunction to the 31 percent of men. These statistics, while showing that a much greater market exists for a corresponding blue pill that can enhance the sexual activity of women, do not really show how these drug can help solve the sexual problems of women which is not entirely about the flow of blood to the clitoris.

When asked why women are not eligible to Buy Viagra cheap deals, a spokeswoman for Pfizer explained that the issue of sexual dysfunctions in women was far more complex than what was already known. She went on to say that since the issue of men’s erectile dysfunction – Viagra treats ED in men – was better understood, it was easier to go in that direction first, while trying to work out the female angle.
In his response to Viagra’s seemingly ‘leaning towards male’, Arthur Caplan, a Bioethicist who has worked with Pfizer as a consultant, was a bit forthright when he said that while he thought that the Viagra for female angle was worth exploring, it was not safe as yet to be prescribed to women.
However, going by the views of some others, woman should be suitable to use the drug. Bur Dorman was of the view that for a loving, family-oriented relationship to be sustained among couples, certain physical needs of the women have to be met just like their male counterparts.

These views were reinforced when Pfizer confirmed that over a 100,000 women had been placed on Viagra prescription. Notable amongst these women is a Joanne Dorman who had had a hysterectomy, and is enjoying a new lease of sexual life with the wonder pill. Also, Dr Irwin Goldwyn, a Pfizer researcher, confirmed that he and his colleagues placed some fifty women on the drug, after which there was evidence of improved lubrication, sexual pain reduction, increased arousal and orgasm, in most of these women.

This goes without saying, however, that the drug is still to be approved for use by women by the Food and Drug Administration. Despite the snatches of success reported in the prescription of Viagra for women, it is not yet uhuru. It will take quite some time before women can be certified suitable to Buy Viagra online safely. And Pfizer are definitely not resting on their laurels to make sure that female Viagra sees the light of day.