The purpose of this study is to investigate whether Lorexys is effective and safe to treat premenopausal women who have lost their sexual desire to a distressing degree.
Women are diagnosed with Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) if they experience chronic loss of desire for sex together with significant distress or interpersonal difficulties due to this lack of desire. HSDD can have a serious effect on emotional well-being and interpersonal relationships. There are no U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments for HSDD. Off-label treatments include testosterone, which is not always effective and can be accompanied by side effects such as excess hair growth, acne, and decreases in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. Research in laboratory animals and clinical observations in humans suggest that re-balancing chemical messengers in the brain may stimulate sexual desire. S1 Biopharma's Lorexys® is a novel use fixed-dose combination (FDC) in an oral pill. Lorexys® combines two agents intended to restore balance to the brain's centers that control sexual function. Such effects are hoped to help women with HSDD. The compound is Phase 2-ready without prior trials (Phase I safety studies) because the two agents have often been used together; individually, they are FDA-approved for treating other disorders (depression, for example), and in a large US survey, the two were taken together in about 23% of patients who were prescribed one of the two agents. This research study requires subjects to take three different study medications for four weeks each, with at least a one-week "wash-out" period after each, and to report on rating scales how they feel. The medication is open-label (the subjects can see which medication they are receiving). That should not interfere with the evaluations or cause a big "placebo effect" because only a low proportion of women with HSDD have responded to a placebo in prior research studies of other compounds when using the same measures of efficacy. Participation lasts 16 weeks, with 8 clinic visits. A weekly, but no daily, self-rating is required between visits.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
30
Lorexys is a proprietary fixed-dose combination of two agents
Robert Taylor Segraves, MD, PhD
Beachwood, Ohio, United States
Molly Katz, MD
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Change in Desire domain of the Female Sexual Function Index
One item asks how often the subject feels sexual desire, and another item asks how much she feels desire. One of five answers must be checked for each item.
Time frame: Four weeks after baseline
Change in Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised
The subject self-rates 13 negative feelings, such as frustration, bother, and unhappiness, that may have occurred because of her sexual problems.
Time frame: Four weeks after baseline
Change in Side Effects Checklist - 24 item
The subject self-rates how much (if any) she has been bothered by each of the 24 symptoms that have been commonly reported with similar drugs, such as headache, sleepy, and anxious, from "not at all" to "extremely."
Time frame: 4 weeks after baseline
Patient's Global Impression of Change
Subject self-rates how much, if any, her sexual disorder has changed since starting the current study medication (worse, same, or 4 degrees of improvement)
Time frame: 4 Weeks after baseline
Change in blood pressure and pulse
Blood pressure and pulse are taken lying and standing
Time frame: Four weeks after baseline
Change in 12-lead electrocardiogram
An electrocardiogram is used to measure the regularity of the heartbeat and how well electrical impulses are transmitted through the heart
Time frame: 15 weeks (end of last treatment) after screen
Change in routine lab studies including pregnancy tests and screen for illicit drugs
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About two teaspoons of blood are drawn to measure blood cells and body chemistry, and to see if the patient has become pregnant or has taken unauthorized substances.
Time frame: Screen (wk 0), end of treatment/new baseline (wks 6, 11, 15)