Raleigh drug maker's ‘female Viagra' could get FDA approval Tuesday

FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 27, 2013, file photo, a tablet of flibanserin sits on a brochure for Sprout Pharmaceuticals in the company's Raleigh, N.C., headquarters. Government health experts on Thursday, June 4, 2015 backed the approval of the... (Copyright by WSLS - All rights reserved)

WNCN – RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – A Raleigh company's pill that some are calling a female version of Viagra could be approved by the Food and Drug Administration as early as Tuesday.

The FDA is expected to rule Tuesday on the drug Flibanserin, which is made by the Raleigh-based company Sprout Pharmaceuticals.

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If approved, it would become the first medication available to help improve the female libido.

In June, an FDA advisory panel recommended the drug be approved after failing FDA approval twice, first back in 2010.

There are critics who argue not much has changed since 2010 and that the drug's effect on the libido is not clear and side effects such as sleepiness and dizziness are problematic.

The drug must be taken daily over a period of weeks to become effective.

Sprout Pharmaceuticals was featured as part of WNCN's "What's Next" series that focuses on local companies on the cutting edge of technology and ahead of trends.