NEW YORK -- A hysterectomy 11 years ago zapped Colleen Christensen's sexual desire. Now 55 years old and married for 33 years, Christensen said she used to worry that a lack of intimacy was draining the fun and closeness from her relationship.
Two and a half years ago she joined a clinical trial for Intrinsa, a testosterone patch made by Procter & Gamble Co. The effect was almost instantaneous. "Remember when you were young and you got this buzz and you looked at your husband and said 'Oh, baby?'" asked Christensen, a homemaker in Poulsbo, Wash.
On Thursday a U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee will review Intrinsa, which could be the first prescription medication to win approval for female sexual dysfunction.
P&G's interest in Intrinsa is easy to understand: Viagra, Pfizer Inc.'s impotency pill, and its two newer competitors, Cialis from Eli Lilly & Co. and Icos Corp., and Levitra from GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Bayer AG, will account for the bulk of an estimated $2.4 billion in worldwide sales this year for prescription drugs for male sexual dysfunction, according to market research firm Decision Resources.
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