You may know Viagra as the "blue pill" but what about Addyi, the "pink pill"? 

Addyi was first approved in the U.S. in 2015 to treat hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) – the medical term for women experiencing low libidos. According to the National Institutes of Health, it is "the most commonly identified sexual problem among women." It was first identified in 1977 but getting drugs to market for women's sexual health faces unique challenges. Addyi is one of two approved drugs that help improve women's low libido, while 26 drugs have been approved for male sexual health by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. On this episode, host and producer Nam Kiwanuka speaks with Aisling Chin-Yee about the history of how Addyi came to market and what making her documentary, "The Pink Pill: Sex, Drugs & Who Has Control", has taught her about how this pink pill is changing the conversation about women's libido.

 

Links:

How U.S. Tried but Failed to Wipe Out 70 Years of Global Consent on Women’s Rights

https://msmagazine.com/2026/03/19/usa-csw-70-women/

A Pill for Sexual Desire Reaches a New Group of Women

https://time.com/7341012/sexual-desire-pill-addyi-cindy-eckert/

The Pink Pill : New documentary exposes the long battle to bring Addyi — the first libido drug for women — to market

https://theconversation.com/the-pink-pill-new-documentary-exposes-the-long-battle-to-bring-addyi-th…

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8673442/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32301355/

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/414363

https://www.sproutpharmaceuticals.com/

You may know Viagra as the "blue pill" but what about Addyi, the "pink pill"?&nbsp;
Addyi was first approved in the U.S. in 2015 to treat hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) &ndash; the medical term for women experiencing low libidos. According to the National Institutes of Health, it is "the most commonly identified sexual problem among women." It was first identified in 1977 but getting drugs to market for women's sexual health faces unique challenges. Addyi is one of two approved drugs that help improve women's low libido, while 26 drugs have been approved for male sexual health by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. On this episode, host and producer Nam Kiwanuka speaks with Aisling Chin-Yee about the history of how Addyi came to market and what making her documentary, "The Pink Pill: Sex, Drugs &amp; Who Has Control", has taught her about how this pink pill is changing the conversation about women's libido.
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Links:
How U.S. Tried but Failed to Wipe Out 70 Years of Global Consent on Women&rsquo;s Rights
<a href="https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmsmagazine.com%2F2026%2F03%2F19%2Fusa-csw-70-women%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7Ctlam%40tvo.org%7Ce9d9eeb6b608449009b008de891db73b%7C2eadfde0e18641eb8f621e033d56dcbe%7C0%7C0%7C639098957991793574%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=spzlYDnFJF7gh91RrnfqqEqbrRCerj8zl%2BSeXL0kn4c%3D&amp;reserved=0" aria-label="Link https://msmagazine.com/2026/03/19/usa-csw-70-women/">https://msmagazine.com/2026/03/19/usa-csw-70-women/</a>
A Pill for Sexual Desire Reaches a New Group of Women
<a href="https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2F7341012%2Fsexual-desire-pill-addyi-cindy-eckert%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7Ctlam%40tvo.org%7Ce9d9eeb6b608449009b008de891db73b%7C2eadfde0e18641eb8f621e033d56dcbe%7C0%7C0%7C639098957991821265%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=VZpDll5jIn5HIBsaKCz7ppZWpCwVMRZg3gnmJ%2FRLrWs%3D&amp;reserved=0" aria-label="Link https://time.com/7341012/sexual-desire-pill-addyi-cindy-eckert/">https://time.com/7341012/sexual-desire-pill-addyi-cindy-eckert/</a>
The Pink Pill : New documentary exposes the long battle to bring Addyi &mdash; the first libido drug for women &mdash; to market
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-pink-pill-new-documentary-exposes-the-long-battle-to-bring-addyi-the-first-libido-drug-for-women-to-market-276473" aria-label="Link https://theconversation.com/the-pink-pill-new-documentary-exposes-the-long-battle-to-bring-addyi-th&hellip;">https://theconversation.com/the-pink-pill-new-documentary-exposes-the-long-battle-to-bring-addyi-th&hellip;</a>
<a href="https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Farticles%2FPMC8673442%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7Ctlam%40tvo.org%7Ce9d9eeb6b608449009b008de891db73b%7C2eadfde0e18641eb8f621e033d56dcbe%7C0%7C0%7C639098957991863836%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=UUAiYfPLvFmxfAEdSYUq6gVfVBdiNUPc7cC9yw2ikqI%3D&amp;reserved=0" aria-label="Link https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8673442/">https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8673442/</a>
<a href="https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2F32301355%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7Ctlam%40tvo.org%7Ce9d9eeb6b608449009b008de891db73b%7C2eadfde0e18641eb8f621e033d56dcbe%7C0%7C0%7C639098957991885973%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=9kfkk1itKxCwySq0hwH5kcPHNHjClkgMDgXa1osTy5o%3D&amp;reserved=0" aria-label="Link https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32301355/">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32301355/</a>
<a href="https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fjamanetwork.com%2Fjournals%2Fjamainternalmedicine%2Ffullarticle%2F414363&amp;data=05%7C02%7Ctlam%40tvo.org%7Ce9d9eeb6b608449009b008de891db73b%7C2eadfde0e18641eb8f621e033d56dcbe%7C0%7C0%7C639098957991905542%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=XR%2FkAfIVpf0gqBtrPDBh3UvS1u2rBLoyUx12txc3Avo%3D&amp;reserved=0" aria-label="Link https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/414363">https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/414363</a>
<a href="https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sproutpharmaceuticals.com%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7Ctlam%40tvo.org%7Ce9d9eeb6b608449009b008de891db73b%7C2eadfde0e18641eb8f621e033d56dcbe%7C0%7C0%7C639098957991923774%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=sjJhhOlVmLCXLeRS9LszBuNKuvkMFa1ALi0oy%2B9cIYI%3D&amp;reserved=0" aria-label="Link https://www.sproutpharmaceuticals.com/">https://www.sproutpharmaceuticals.com/</a>

(MIS)Treated, a TVO podcast, explores how medicine has – and still is – failing women and speaks to the people looking to make a difference. Join host Nam Kiwanuka to hear real life stories and expert interviews on how the mistreatment and misdiagnosis of women affects us all.

(MIS)Treated, a TVO podcast, explores how medicine has &ndash; and still is &ndash; failing women and speaks to the people looking to make a difference. Join host Nam Kiwanuka to hear real life stories and expert interviews on how the mistreatment and misdiagnosis of women affects us all.