Potential good news for women with a low sex-drive: a study is underway in Houston for a topical solution that revs up the libido. Think of it as applying a little bit of steamy thespian Lorenzo Lamas’s sweat to your skin.

Created by Illinois-based BioSante Pharmaceuticals, LibiGel could be ready for market by 2010, depending on how this third phase – for safety and efficacy – goes. The testosterone-based gel will be directed at the approximately 40 million women suffering from female sexual dysfunction (FDS), specifically hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), thus rejuvenating their sex lives (DOINGIT). It is meant to be applied daily to the upper arm, “delivering testosterone to the bloodstream evenly over time and in a non-invasive and painless manner,” according to BioSante’s website.

But don’t think of it as female Viagra.

“That’s completely inaccurate,” Mark Jacobs, an OBGYN involved with the study, tells Hair Balls. Jacobs says that male sexuality is simple and straightforward; female sexuality is complex. (Hair Balls isn’t sure, but we think it has something to do with moonbeams and fairy dust).

Jacobs says female sexuality involves both complex pscyhological and physiological factors, to wit: “A new mother with a little baby is not going to be terribly interested in sex as a general rule because she’s busy biologically being a mother, and the infant’s totally dependant….A woman who is in a troubled relationship or who has lots of stress and so forth may not be interested either,” he says.

And while other pharmaceutical companies have tackled this issue before, Jacob says that “as of yet, the magic bullet – which there may not even be a magic bullet – has not been found.” [SIDENOTE: “Magic Bullet” is also the name of a mini-vibrator, which, come to think of it, women with FDS may want to look into until LibiGel’s on the shelves].

The third phase of the study, which Jacobs hopes will include 4,000 women, is only for women 30-65 who’ve had their ovaries removed (surgical menopause); and women over 50 (natural menopause).

That’s right, dude: your grandmother might be in on this. Think about that before you go to sleep tonight.

— Craig Malisow

This article appears in Oct 16-22, 2008.