Chaired by the former lead clinical researcher for Viagra®, the consortium challenges the sexual wellness industry to embrace scientific rigor to advance innovations in female sexual health

NEW YORK, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Vella Bioscience, a biotech startup in service of female sexual empowerment, is today announcing the Consortium for the Study of Women’s Sexual Wellness. The new initiative brings together ten renowned experts with a shared mission of advancing innovation in non-pharmaceutical female sexual health tools. Sexual arousal, uterine pain, and the vaginal microbiome are some of the initial topics of its research. By providing educational resources and basic science and clinical protocols that are necessary to clearly profile product efficacy and safety for female consumers, the Consortium aims to advance scientific rigor for women’s sexual health and deepen the public’s knowledge of female bodies. The Mission of the Consortium is to:

• Support research, education, and public awareness of female sexual health and wellness.
• Bring scientific rigor to the basic science and clinical science research of sexual wellness products, including the utilization of double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trials and the development of an advanced protocol for microbiome safety screening.
• Enable healthcare providers and customers to directly access research protocols and validated products for the management of sexual wellness.
• Establish a public-facing community of like-minded providers who support women in their sexual journey and difficulties.

The consortium’s mission will be driven by a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), comprised of internationally recognized experts in female sexual health and medicine. 

Harin Padma-Nathan, MD, FRCS(C), Chairman of Consortium SAB, Past-Professor of Urology, University of Southern California.

Alan Altman, MD FACOG, Past-President of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health, Director, Aspen Center for Women’s Health.

Anita Clayton, MD, Chair and Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, and Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Virginia, Past-President of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health, President Elect, American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology.

Peter Fodor, MD, FACS, Past-President of American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Past-President Lipoplasty Society of North America, Clinical Professor of Plastic Surgery, UCLA.

Sheryl Kingsberg, PhD, Chief of the OB/GYN Behavioral Medicine division at UH Cleveland Medical Center, Professor of Reproductive Biology, Psychiatry, and Urology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and a Past President of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health and a Past President of the North American Menopause Society. 

Cindy Meston, PhD, Holtzman Regents Chair and Professor of Psychology, Director, Sexual Psychophysiology Laboratory, University of Texas, Austin Texas and Past President of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health

James Pfaus, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology, Department of Psychology and Life Sciences, Charles University, Prague; and Researcher, Czech National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany. Past President of the International Academy of Sex Research.

Nicole Prause, PhD, Neuroscientist, Psychophysiological Researcher, Statistician, UCLA School of Medicine, Licensed Psychologist and previously associated with the Kinsey Institute.

Raymond Rosen, PhD, Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Past-Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Dean of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, author of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF).

James Simon, MD, FACOG, Gynecologist, Reproductive Endocrinologist, Past president of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health and The Menopause Society, and Director, IntimMedicine Specialists, Washington DC.  

Dr. Padma-Nathan, who was a lead researcher on the team that developed Viagra® and Vella Bioscience’s Chief Medical Officer, says: “Many wellness products make sweeping claims about their efficacy as OTC solutions for women’s sexual health and arousal. However, the truth is that we do not know enough about female sexual anatomy and physiology in order to create effective tools and clinical-level solutions for women struggling with issues like vaginal dryness and uterine pain. Moreover, the public is fiercely uneducated about women’s sexuality. We hope our research will help to bridge the gaps women experience in their healthcare.”

Carolyn Wheeler, named CEO of Vella Bioscience earlier this year, says about the initiative: “Research and innovation in women’s health is grossly underserved. Solutions to help us live equally full lives are underdeveloped or nonexistent. The formation of the Consortium is about establishing new norms for women by increasing public education and offering guidance for best practices for evaluating efficacy. We invite our colleagues in this field to join us on this mission. We need all hands on deck. There’s way too much to do and we need to do it as quickly as possible to make up for so much lost time.”

“There is much that has been developed in the female sexual medicine arena that is readily adaptable to the development of rational and effective wellness products to enhance female sexual arousal, mitigate menstrual pain, and alleviate some of the genitourinary symptoms of menopause,” stated Dr. Anita Clayton, Professor of Psychiatry University of Virginia, Past president of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health, and member of the Consortium for the Study of Women’s Sexual Wellness SAB.

The Consortium looks forward to announcing more details on its research activities, resource library, and opportunities for clinical study participation. For more information or to follow the Consortium’s activities, visit www.vellabio.com.

About Vella Bioscience

Operating at the intersection of biotech & wellness, Vella Bioscience is a consumer product company addressing the overlooked needs that are specific to female bodies and their sexual fulfillment. Vella aims to improve women’s sexual wellbeing, starting with its award-winning Women’s Pleasure Serum, the only product scientifically proven to enhance a woman’s arousal and orgasm. Vella was founded on the belief that every body has agency and is worthy of scientific study, discovery, and advancement.

SOURCE Vella Bioscience