A BRITISH company is developing a drug to help overcome the sexual side
effects of Prozac. At least a third of people taking such antidepressants have
difficulty attaining orgasm or suffer a loss of libido.
Although a drug like Viagra can increase blood flow, it doesn’t change desire
and arousal, says John Hutchison of Vernalis, a company in Reading, Berkshire,
that is co-developing the new drug, codenamed VML 670, with Prozac’s
manufacturer, Eli Lilly. VML 670, by contrast, activates a receptor in the brain
called 5-HT1A, which is known to be linked with sexual arousal.
In tests on rodents,…
