Boehringer Ingelheim Announces New Data on Flibanserin in Pre-Menopausal Women with Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder

RIDGEFIELD, Conn., May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Data from pivotal Phase III clinical trials demonstrate that a higher proportion of pre-menopausal women with Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) receiving flibanserin 100mg reported both an improvement in their condition and a meaningful benefit from their treatment, compared to placebo.  Flibanserin is an investigational compound being developed by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for the treatment of HSDD in pre-menopausal women.  HSDD is a persistent or recurrent decrease or lack of sexual desire that causes distress for the patient, may put a strain on relationships with partners, and is not due to the effects of a substance, including medications, or another medical condition.

The findings, presented at the 58th Annual Clinical Meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in San Francisco, include data from a pre-specified pooled analysis of two pivotal North American trials (DAISY® and VIOLET®) assessing flibanserin 100mg in pre-menopausal women suffering from HSDD.  

"These new data offer a unique perspective on the effects of flibanserin 100mg from the patient's point of view.  Not only did pre-menopausal women with HSDD report feeling an improvement in their symptoms of low desire and associated distress when taking flibanserin, but they also reported that this change had a meaningful benefit to them," said John Thorp, MD, study investigator, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina Medical School.

These findings add to data from the primary and secondary endpoint analysis of flibanserin pivotal trials.  According to the pre-specified pooled analysis of women who completed 24 weeks of treatment, flibanserin 100mg showed statistically significant improved measures of sexual desire, overall sexual functioning, distress associated with low sexual desire, and the number of satisfying sexual events (SSE), compared with placebo.

"HSDD is an under-recognized and often misunderstood condition that can take a toll on women," said Peter Piliero, MD, executive director, Medical Affairs, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.  "We are committed to advancing flibanserin's development to help understand and find a treatment for women affected by this distressing medical condition."  

North American Phase III Trial Results

Patient Perspective Analysis

The pooled analysis included 1,378 pre-menopausal women with HSDD treated with either flibanserin 100mg or placebo for 24 weeks.  The women evaluated their overall improvement in "bothersome decreased sexual desire" using the Patient's Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I), which is a 7-point scale from 1 (very much improved) through 4 (no change) to 7 (very much worse).  By 24 weeks, 48.3 percent of women receiving flibanserin and 30.3 percent of women receiving placebo reported feeling very much improved, much improved or minimally improved (p<0.0001).  

In addition, more women in the flibanserin group versus placebo reported experiencing a meaningful benefit from the study medication (40.5 percent versus 25.2 percent, respectively; p<0.0001), using a single-question Patient Benefit Evaluation (Overall, do you believe that you have experienced a meaningful benefit from the study medication?).

Analysis of Completers

The pooled analysis included 971 (flibanserin 100mg qhs: 450; placebo: 521) pre-menopausal women who completed the 24-week trials.  In that analysis, flibanserin 100mg significantly increased the frequency of SSE versus placebo (increase of 2.1 events vs. 0.9 events, respectively; p<0.0001) over the 24-week study period.  The analysis also found that, compared with placebo, flibanserin 100mg showed statistically significant improved measures of sexual desire using an electronic daily diary or eDiary (primary endpoint) and on the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) desire domain (secondary endpoint).  Compared with placebo, flibanserin also showed statistically significant improved sexual functioning (as measured by the FSFI total score), and distress related to low sexual desire (based on the Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised, FSDS-R, total score), which were secondary endpoints.

The FSFI and FSDS-R desire scores are independently developed and validated tools that provide additional measurement of changes in desire over a four-week recall period.  The FSFI is a 19-item self-administered questionnaire composed of six domains (desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain).  The FSDS-R is a 13-item self-administered questionnaire.  The total score ranges from zero to 52, with the higher scores indicating more sexual distress.  

Pivotal Trials Safety Data

The most commonly reported adverse events (AEs) with flibanserin 100mg in the pivotal North American trials were mild to moderate and emerged during the first 14 days of treatment.  These AEs reported by more women on flibanserin than on placebo included somnolence (daytime sleepiness), dizziness, fatigue, anxiety, dry mouth, nausea and insomnia.  The majority of these AEs resolved with continued treatment.  About 15 percent of women on flibanserin 100mg and seven percent of women on placebo discontinued treatment due to AEs.  

About Flibanserin

Flibanserin is an investigational compound being developed by Boehringer Ingelheim for the treatment of HSDD in pre-menopausal women.  Pooled data from pivotal Phase III trials demonstrated that flibanserin 100mg increased the number of satisfying sexual events (SSE) and sexual desire while decreasing the distress associated with HSDD.  The most commonly reported adverse events (AEs) with flibanserin 100mg were mild to moderate and emerged during the first 14 days of treatment.  These AEs reported by more women on flibanserin than on placebo included somnolence (daytime sleepiness), dizziness, fatigue, anxiety, dry mouth, nausea and insomnia.  The majority of these AEs resolved with continued treatment.  About 15 percent of women on flibanserin 100mg and seven percent of women on placebo discontinued treatment due to AEs.    

About Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder

Low sexual desire is the most commonly reported female sexual complaint.  Approximately one in 10 women report low sexual desire with associated distress, which may be HSDD.  HSDD is a form of female sexual dysfunction (FSD) and has been recognized as a medical condition for more than 30 years.  As defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR), HSDD is the persistent or recurrent lack (or absence) of sexual fantasies or desire for any form of sexual activity causing marked distress or interpersonal difficulty and not better accounted for by another disorder (except another sexual dysfunction), direct physiological effects of a substance (including medications), or a general medical or psychiatric condition.  Generalized, acquired HSDD is not limited to certain types of stimulation, situations or partners, and develops only after a period of normal functioning.  There is an unmet need for women as there is no FDA-approved treatment for HSDD.  It can affect women of all ages and at any stage of life.

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Ridgefield, CT, is the largest U.S. subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation (Ridgefield, CT) and a member of the Boehringer Ingelheim group of companies.

The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 142 affiliates in 50 countries and more than 41,500 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.

In 2009, Boehringer Ingelheim posted net sales of US $17.7 billion (12.7 billion euro) while spending 21% of net sales in its largest business segment, Prescription Medicines, on research and development.

For more information, please visit http://us.boehringer-ingelheim.com

SOURCE Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.