A pharmaceutical patch designed to boost women’s libido is to become available this week almost a decade after the launch of Viagra changed the sex lives of middle-aged men.

Intrinsa is the first of about 20 female sex drugs under development to go on sale. One of the ways it works is by stimulating thoughts about sex, in contrast to the more mechanical effects triggered by Viagra.

Trials have shown that women who use the patch feel inclined to have sex more frequently. It works by releasing the male hormone testosterone through the skin into the blood-stream.

Like Viagra, Intrinsa is designed for use by patients with sexual problems. It will only be available on prescription. Like its male counterpart, however, it may become a “lifestyle” drug. About 900,000 British men are thought to have used Viagra at least once.

The female aphrodisiac has been welcomed by doctors and counsellors. “At last women will have something for the weekend. This is the first medication that is going to have an effect on women’s libido,” said Phillip Hodson, a counsellor and author of How to Make Great Love to a Woman.

“There are some women who say they are no longer interested in sex then you find their testosterone levels are extremely low. Those women will probably experience the reconstruction of their sex lives.”

Professor John Studd, consultant gynaecologist at Chelsea and Westminster hospital in London, said he hadn’t “the slightest doubt” that the patch would be prescribed “off-licence” to younger women.

There have been warnings that the patch will not be a panacea for sexual problems, many of which are emotional at root. “If you are not interested in sex because your husband is a foul beast, Intrinsa isn’t going to change that,” said Hodson.

Intrinsa, developed by Procter & Gamble, got a licence from the European Medicines Agency in July.

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