[links]

[wispfox]

ratatosk has nifty pictures of a walkingstick and a praying mantid (if you don't want to see pictures of bugs, don't click!)

Via sinboy, The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has patented drugs to make it harder for women to climax during sex. The patent says: "Whilst anorgasmia and difficulties with orgasm are well-represented in the female sexual dysfunction literature, rapid orgasm - a female problem sharing components with premature ejaculation in men - is notable by its absence." [...] The Sexual Dysfunction Association said it had never heard of premature female orgasm

If the problem doesn't exist, how does a patent for a drug to treat it make _ANY_ sense? *tries valiently not to think of ways in which it could be abused*

Comments

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

Gah. Bet it'll sell well in the FGM-practising nations.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

*nod* *sigh* Good, but frightening, point.

[ruth-lawrence.livejournal.com]

That was what I immediately thought.

[rosefox]

Note that there's a patent, but no clinical trials and no plans for any. I suspect they're just trying to corner a market that isn't there, in case someday it is.

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

*boggle*

(TMI)I'm trying to imagine why a rapid orgasm would be a bad thing, especially since it's something I usually do. Generally it just means I get more of them in the same timeframe, as far as I can tell.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

(TMI)I'm trying to imagine why a rapid orgasm would be a bad thing, especially since it's something I usually do. Generally it just means I get more of them in the same timeframe, as far as I can tell.

Quite. Ditto, with that confusion and that experience.

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

Now, if they could make a drug to speed up the reaction, I have an ex girlfriend that would be perfect for...

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Heh. They're probably working on that one... :)

[regyt.livejournal.com]

That's what infuriates me so much about this news. What kind of mind could possibly think to develop a drug to suppress women's orgasms instead of to help them along? I'm reacting remarkably emotionally to this.

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

I wonder if they discovered it as a side effect of another drug they were working on, and decided to file the patent for that because the other purpose didn't work out.

I've contracted at a fairly large drug company and they don't put money into something they *know* they have no real market for. I'm guessing someone was reaching to justify R&D for a drug that didn't do what they originally wanted it to do, but picked that as the only thing it did actually do.

Or I'm just a hopeless optimist. Either is possible.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

That is an excellent point. And I can easily see that as being why such a patent would happen.

Of course... if the drug _did_ already exist, I can also see people attempting to convince patients that they need the drug. (or drug companies trying to convince doctors to look for things that might need that... Perhaps, for example, to handle people who are addicted to sex, or something... *sigh*)

[vvvexation.livejournal.com]

Kinda like the companies trying to convince women they lubricate too much during sex.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

... yeah. I forget that gets claimed as a _BAD_ thing.

[cutieperson]

well, there are those of us who cannot stand much stimulation after a big orgasm.. if one had that problem *and* came quickly i could easily see wanting a way to slow things down.

[kythryne.livejournal.com]

Dude, that class of drug already existed. They're called SSRIs.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

But that's not for that particular reason, and I believe it works on both genders. This seems... specific.

[kythryne.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, I've no doubt it's not quite the same thing. But it wouldn't surprise me if it's based on an SSRI. They've already either just relabeled or slightly tweaked (can't remember which, need more tea!) one of the older SSRIs (Prozac?) into a PMS drug...

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

But it wouldn't surprise me if it's based on an SSRI. They've already either just relabeled or slightly tweaked (can't remember which, need more tea!) one of the older SSRIs (Prozac?) into a PMS drug...

*nod* Indeed.

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

It's Prozac. I live in Indianapolis, where Lilly is headquartered, so anything they do is big news. If they find another use for modified Prozac, they get the patent back and can sell it without a generic equilivent again.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

I believe they've already achieved that. After a Lilly-funded study a couple of years ago showed that fluoxitene (Prozac) provided relief for menopausal hot flashes (although only slightly more than a placebo), they've been repackaging under the Sarafem label and trying to sell it to menobabes.

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

Ah, I didn't know that. I knew they were after the menobabe market with the drug that came out when I was there (OK, I just blanked on the name. It's an anti-osteoporosis drug... oh, that's right, Evista).

Prozac was their bread and butter for so long, and when the generic version came out they were scrambling to find a way to replace it in the revenue stream. I like Cymbalta, their newest SSNRI, much better than Effexor, which is also a SSNRI.

One of the uses for Cymbalta that its approved for in other countries, but not here, is stress incontinence. Once it gets approval here for that, the marketing blizt will go in high gear. I wonder how many people who get it prescribed for that will know it's an anti-depressant.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I am giggling at the idea of eighty-year-old pilots having to explain this on their paperwork. (The FAA won't approve a medical certificate if you've taken ANY anti-depressant EVER, almost for any reason at all. A few weird cases can get through.)

Yes, I'm bad.

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

Actually, it depends on the drug. That was true for me with Zoloft, but not with Celexa - Celexa went in quite the opposite direction for me.

Effexor was a libido killer. I'm not sure about Cymbalta yet :-)

[jasra]

Happily, Effexor hasn't had that effect on me.

[okoshun.livejournal.com]

Those are really nifty photos. I love bugs that imitate nature. Well, as long as they're not in my hotel room I suppose. :)

I wonder if they'll ever come up with a handy drug for women who find it difficult to climax during sex (and will be first in line to try it out).