Intrinsa is a transdermal testosterone patch which is used to treat low hypoactive sexual desire disorder in women who have their ovaries/uterus or both removed. The patch is applied over abdominal skin for continuous testosterone supply over 24 hours (300 micrograms per patch). It is a controlled drug and can be only obtained with doctor’s prescription. [1] Hypoactive sexual desire disorder or HSDD is characterized by reduced or absence of sexual desires or decreased libido in women who have their ovaries or uterus removed, thus causing personal distress and other behavioral problems. Intrinsa contains testosterone as an active ingredient, which is considered to be the hormone responsible for sexual drive both in men and women. Post-hysterectomy, the production of this hormone is halved which serves as an indication for Intrinsa as this patch releases testosterone slowly and continuously into the bloodstream to match the levels prior to hysterectomy. It was launched by Procter and Gamble in 2004 to treat HSDD in surgically menopausal women who were also receiving concomitant estrogen, however; …show more content…
FDA review of Intrinsa suggested that there is a very high possibility of the fact that Intrinsa may be prescribed to those women who don’t have low testosterone levels or who have not underwent hysterectomy. Additionally, women who become menopausal following chemotherapy for breast cancer could be another off label user population and these high systemic testosterone levels could be dangerous in these women. [4] In case Intrinsa gets market approval in US market without getting adequate safety data, it would be very ignorant to assume that Intrinsa would not be used off label on a large scale by those women population for whom Intrinsa is not intended