For the past month, The Discovery Channel has been running on its web site a four-part series called ‘Understanding Female Sexual Desire.’ It has a CME label alongside the title - continuing medical education - although the network describes the programming as patient education. The sponsor is noted at the outset and it happens to be Boehringer Ingelheim, which tomorrow hopes to convince an FDA advisory panel to approve a pill to treat a disorder it calls female sexual dysfunction (see this).

The series explores Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder, which is listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and Discovery is careful to not mention any drug, including flibanserin, the Boehringer pill, since none is approved to treat the condition. What role, if any did Boehringer have in putting this together? A Discovery spokeswoman says the network received grants, but had full editorial control and ‘third-party experts’ reviewed the content. “We just reported facts and patient stories,” the spokeswoman informs us. “…The purpose was to raise awareness of a serious condition.”

Whether the piece crosses any lines about pre-approval promotion is up to the FDA. Again, no drug is ever mentioned, so it may well be kosher. Curious? Here are parts one, two, three and four. Nonetheless, the programming is clearly designed to heighten awareness of HSDD just in time for the FDA panel meeting along with other promotional efforts, including a Twitter feed and web site run by the Society for Women’s Health Research.

The non-profit describes itself as a ‘thought leader’ dedicated to improving women’s health through advocacy, education, and research. Its corporate advisory council includes various drugmakers, including Boehringer, and SWHR’s president is quoted in the series, although there are no interviews with critics of the idea that HSDD should be treated with medication. In a note, John Whyte, Discovery’s chief medical expert and vp for CME, tells us that the group, “like most non-profits, receives funds from numerous sources” and he has known SWHR president Phyllis Greenberger many years and has never known the organization to be accused of bias.

To be clear, we are not belittling the problem and did not accuse SWHR of bias; we simply noted the connections between Discovery, Boehringer and the non-profit, all of which were disclosed. However, given the unusual debate over treating HSDD - and this is not a new debate - we wondered why the Discovery piece did not attempt to acknowledge this angle, even for a moment or two. Whyte’s reply: “We can’t accomplish everything in an hour,” he writes. “We wanted to raise awareness so people could have a conversation, if appropriate, with their doctor.” So many patient stories, so little time.

Hat tip to Bnet