Women's Sexual Health Innovation with Sabrina Johnson, CEO of Dari Bioscience
Sabrina Johnson spent 35 years in pharmaceutical development before arriving at a conclusion that should have been obvious long before: nobody was actually building for women. She founded DARE Bioscience — now the only publicly traded pharmaceutical company focused entirely on women's healthcare — because she decided someone had to.
One percent. That's the share of private pharmaceutical investment going toward companies innovating solely for women. One percent. The rest has been going somewhere else for decades, and women have been told to work with what showed up.
In this episode, Sabrina and I get into what it actually takes to bring a product to market in a space the industry has largely ignored. Dare to Play is a topical sildenafil cream designed to increase blood flow to genital tissue for arousal, sensation, and lubrication — the same mechanism as Viagra, delivered through skin. The active ingredient wasn't the hard part. Getting sildenafil through skin at pharmaceutical-grade manufacturing standards rather than compounding standards was the technical challenge that took years to solve. That distinction matters more than most people realize: compounding is not the same as pharmaceutical development, and the gap in rigor affects everything from consistency to safety data.
We also talk about what's coming next — a vaginal health probiotic and a once-a-month vaginal ring delivering estradiol and progesterone for menopause — and how DARE structured a direct public offering with the SEC and NASDAQ so that anyone can invest starting at $250. The women who need these products most should be the ones who get to own a piece of what's being built.
Topics covered in this episode:
Why only 1% of pharmaceutical investment goes toward women's healthcare — and what that has cost us
How cultural stigma around female sexuality has shaped and stunted pharma innovation for decades
The science behind Dare to Play and how sildenafil works for female arousal in topical form
Why the delivery mechanism — not the molecule — was the hardest problem to solve
Pharmaceutical-grade manufacturing versus compounding standards and why the difference matters
What else DARE Bioscience has in development: vaginal probiotics and a monthly menopause ring
How to invest in DARE Bioscience starting at $250 — not just institutions, anyone
Every episode of Gyno Girl Presents is a conversation I wish more women could have with their doctors — without the 10-minute clock running. Subscribe wherever you listen, and if this episode helped you, share it with a woman who needs to hear it.
