A new drug have been launched for the HSDD treatment
Pharmaceutical company Boeringer Engleheim have announced that they have launched a drive to push marketing for their new drug for treating hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), Flibanserin.
Euro RSCG have been commissioned by the company to deal with communications with health professionals for them, in order to promote the treatment as a solution for women suffering from HSDD.
Boeringer Ingelheim are clearly gearing up to boost the profile of the drug in time for 2011, when they are hopeful it will be approved by regulatory bodies in the U.S and Europe. After a competitive competition, they have hired TLG communications to deal with public affairs and issues management relating to the new drug.
The London-based PR company Halpern, whose client list includes a whole host of female-friendly brands such as Avon and Tiffany, will be in charge of handling the consumer press.
Boehringer Ingelheim are eager to position the drug as a version of ‘female Viagra’ and hope to ape the success of Pfizer’s blockbusting erectile dysfunction medication Viagra. At the moment only one product has been approved for the treatment of FSD, the Intrinsa patch. Instrinsa is however only suitable for post-menopausal women taking HRT.
Flibaneserin is the first pill-based drug to treat women suffering from HSDD, also known as female sexual dysfunction or FSD. It is believed that at least 1 in 10 women suffer from decreased sexual desire, making it the most frequent problem reported by pre-menopausal women.
When early clinical trial results were reported, they prompted a fair amount of excitement in the press. The papers were quick to jump on the ‘female Viagra’ tag and were also intrigued by stories of how the medication was discovered.
The trials were originally intended to test flibanserin’s potential as an anti-depressant and though it failed in this respect, further clinical trials were ordered after it was reported that many women were refusing to give the drugs back, so successful were they are treating low libido.
TLG said in a statement that they would be working on a brief to liaise with key opinion formers and MPs, working throughout Britain. Senior consultant Lucy Jackson said, “We will be supporting Boehringer Ingelheim’s communications strategy, offering Flibanserin as part of the solution for women suffering from decreased sexual desire, while looking to put women’s health squarely on the political agenda.’
