“For women, that number is zero”.

Researchers estimate that about 8.3% of women between 30 and 70 in the United States suffer distress from lack of sexual desire.

This condition was recognized by the medical community around 40 years ago.

Providers must assess the likelihood of a patient reliably abstaining from alcohol before prescribing as there is an increased risk of severe hypotension and loss of consciousness when Addyi is mixed with alcohol, according to the FDA. The latter is a more complex method.

Flibanserin, which will be sold as Addyi by Sprout Pharamceuticals, was approved on Wednesday after two previous attempts to gain approval were rejected. Addyi boosts levels of some brain chemicals.

Originally the drug was produced by German company Boehringer Ingelheim. The condition is formally known as hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD).

A spokeswoman for Sprout Pharmaceuticals said the company was “committed to working closely” with global regulators to make the drug available outside of the US. Scientists claim that this small benefit outweighs the risks of taking the drug. Advocates welcome the approval and the coalition Even the Score say that a drug to improve women’s sex lives was long overdue; especially since men had many options available for them. The risk to develop either of these symptoms is greater when the drug is taken in combination with alcohol or other treatments. Additionally, pharmacies must be certified and trained to carry the drug.

On one side, Sprout and its supporters have argued that women desperately need FDA-approved medicines to treat sexual problems.

The US National Consumers League described the move as the biggest breakthrough in women’s sexual health since the advent of the Pill for contraception. The drug is for women who do not have an underlying physical or psychological cause for the disorder, the agency said in a news release.

But others complained that all the lobbying had the potential to overshadow concerns about the drug’s safety.