Cindy Eckert

Cindy Eckert was born in Western New York. According to a New York Times profile piece, she attended a different school each year from the fourth grade through the twelfth. During those years she lived overseas where her father, Fred J. Eckert, served as a U.S. Ambassador to Fiji.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/business/cindy-whitehead-no-nickname-just-leave-that-to-me.html?_r=0|title=Cindy Whitehead: No Nickname? Just Leave That to Me|work=The New York Times |date=30 September 2016 |access-date=2017-08-05|last1=Bryant |first1=Adam }} She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Marymount University.{{Cite web|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article127649084.html|title=Woman behind female libido drug launches 'Pinkubator' for women-focused businesses|website=NewsObserver.com|access-date=2017-08-05}}{{Cite web|title=How Did Cindy Eckert And Her Empire Win Prejudice And Skeptical Investors?|date=13 October 2020 |url=https://www.envzone.com/entrepreneur-insights/the-story-of-cindy-eckerts-struggle-to-birth-her-product-of-the-century/|access-date=2021-04-11|language=en-US}}

Eckert began her career with Merck, before moving on to work with smaller, specialty pharmaceutical companies Dura and Elan. After a stint with QVC, Eckert found Slate Pharmaceuticals and Sprout Pharmaceuticals.

Eckert co-founded Slate Pharmaceuticals in 2007. Slate was focused on men's sexual health with an FDA approved long acting testosterone product, Testopel. Slate sold in 2011 to Actient Pharmaceuticals.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=46985759/|title=Company Overview of Slate Pharmaceuticals, Inc.|website=Bloomberg.com|access-date=2017-08-05}}

In August 2015, she sold Sprout Pharmaceuticals for $1 billion, to Valeant, a day after the company won FDA approval for the drug Addyi, the first drug designed to enhance female libido.{{Cite web|url=http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2015/09/21/ceo-of-company-behind-addyi-says-female-sexuality-is-about-biology-not-just-psychology/|title=CEO of company behind Addyi says female sexuality is about biology, not just psychology|website=The New York Times|access-date=2017-08-05}}{{cite press release | url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/valeant-pharmaceuticals-to-acquire-sprout-pharmaceuticals-300131224.html | title=Valeant Pharmaceuticals To Acquire Sprout Pharmaceuticals | publisher=PRNewswire | date=August 20, 2015}}{{cite news| url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-20/valeant-pharma-to-buy-female-libido-drug-maker-for-1-billion | publisher=Bloomberg L.P. | first=Caroline | last=Chen | title=Valeant Buys Female Libido-Drug Maker Sprout for $1 Billion | date=20 August 2015}}{{cite news |last=Rockoff|first=Jonathan|date=20 August 2015|title=Valeant to Buy Maker of Women's Libido Drug for $1 Billion|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/valeant-confirms-1-billion-deal-for-maker-of-womens-libido-drug-1440070883|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=20 August 2015}}

In November 2017, it was announced that Valeant would sell Sprout Pharmaceuticals back to its original owners, two years after acquiring the business for $1 billion.{{cite web|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-valeant-pharm-in-divestiture/valeant-to-sell-female-libido-pill-business-back-to-former-owners-idUKKBN1D61OX|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106152905/https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-valeant-pharm-in-divestiture/valeant-to-sell-female-libido-pill-business-back-to-former-owners-idUKKBN1D61OX|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 6, 2017|title=Valeant to sell female libido pill business back to former owners|website=reuters.com|access-date=7 April 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://ir.valeant.com/news-releases/2017/11-06-2017-120158957|title=Valeant Agrees To Sell Sprout Pharmaceuticals Subsidiary To Former Shareholders Of Sprout Pharmaceuticals|website=ir.valeant.com|access-date=7 April 2018}}

Eckert established an investment firm called The Pink Ceiling in 2016 after the most recent exit, when she sold Sprout Pharmaceuticals to Valeant Pharmaceuticals for $1 billion.{{Cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/cindy-whitehead-pink-ceiling-2016-10|title=The woman behind 'female Viagra' sold her company for $1 billion — that's when everything fell apart|website=BusinessInsider.com|access-date=2017-08-05}} In November 2017, Eckert re-acquired Sprout Pharmaceuticals from Valeant for "almost nothing" as part of a settlement of a lawsuit, according to Bloomberg News. Valeant's stock had collapsed nearly 80% from the acquisition price due to a large financial engineering and price jacking scandal.

In 2018, Eckert formally changed her name from Cindy Whitehead.{{Cite web|url=http://fortune.com/2018/06/11/addyi-sprout-ceo-cindy-eckert/|title='Female Viagra' Founder Is Back as CEO After Valeant Gave the Billion-Dollar Drug Back for Free|website=Fortune.com|access-date=2018-06-13}}

In 2021, she received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from North Carolina State University.{{Cite web |title=Honorary Degrees Conferred |url=https://leadership.ncsu.edu/board-of-trustees/honorary-degrees/degrees-conferred/ |access-date=2024-06-06 |website=University Leadership |language=en-US}}

Eckert launched the Pink Ceiling in order to improve access to capital for female-led start-ups. “The injustice I’m fighting with the Pink Ceiling is not only women’s limited access to capital, but also their limited access to mentors,” she told Entrepreneur Magazine. Eckert works with a team of women to determine which female-led companies will be the recipients of venture capital funding.{{Cite web|url=http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/10/how-the-creator-of-female-viagra-gets-things-done.html|title=How I Get It Done: Cindy Whitehead, the Creator of 'Female Viagra'|website=NYMag.com|date=10 October 2016 |access-date=2017-08-11}}{{Cite web|url=http://fortune.com/2016/04/27/cindy-whitehead-pink-ceiling/|title=Exclusive: The Woman Behind the 'Female Viagra' Has a New Venture|website=Fortune.com|access-date=2017-08-11}}

To date, The Pink Ceiling has invested in eleven start-ups, with public announcements on their involvement with Undercover Colors (a company that is developing wearable nail tech to detect the presence of a date rape drug in drinks), Lia Diagnostics (which produces a flushable pregnancy test),{{Cite web|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20150617_Philly_startup_targets_women_with_a_new_pregnancy_test.html|title=Philly startup creates new pregnancy test|website=Philly.com|date=16 June 2015 |access-date=2017-08-11}} Intuitap (which has a medical device aimed to streamline the spinal tap procedure), and Pursuit (which is developing a patented technology to improve four different aspects of sleep){{Cite web|url=https://facesoffounders.org/unapologetically-pink-522e6bf4c1a7|title=Unapologetically Pink|website=FacesOfFounders.com|access-date=2017-08-11}}

The Pink Ceiling's affiliated incubator, called the “Pinkubator” because of its female focus, is located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The “Pinkubator” was established to provide female-focused entrepreneurs with direct access to mentors, investment opportunities, and business development guidance.

Eckert's drug Addyi has faced rampant criticism from scientists and physicians due to lack of efficacy and a PR campaign waged by her company Sprout Pharmaceuticals against the FDA.{{Cite journal|last1=Baid|first1=Rashmi|last2=Agarwal|first2=Rakesh|date=2018|title=Flibanserin: A controversial drug for female hypoactive sexual desire disorder|journal=Industrial Psychiatry Journal|volume=27|issue=1|pages=154–157|doi=10.4103/ipj.ipj_20_16|issn=0972-6748|pmc=6198608|pmid=30416308 |doi-access=free }}{{Cite web|last=says|first=Mark Thorson|date=2019-04-11|title=FDA chastises Addyi maker over trying to remove alcohol safety warning|url=https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2019/04/11/fda-addyi-female-libido-alcohol/|access-date=2021-06-03|website=STAT|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|last1=Schulte|first1=Brigid|last2=Dennis|first2=Brady|date=2015-08-18|title=FDA approves controversial drug for women with low sex drives|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/fda-approves-controversial-female-viagra-drug/2015/08/18/68d34eca-45f6-11e5-8e7d-9c033e6745d8_story.html|access-date=2021-06-03|issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite journal|last1=Woloshin|first1=Steven|last2=Schwartz|first2=Lisa M.|date=2016-04-01|title=US Food and Drug Administration Approval of Flibanserin: Even the Score Does Not Add Up|url=https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.0073|journal=JAMA Internal Medicine|volume=176|issue=4|pages=439–442|doi=10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.0073|pmid=26926770|issn=2168-6106|url-access=subscription}} Critics have said that it shows the FDA caving to social pressure over the actual benefits of the drug.{{Cite news|last=Nagoski|first=Emily|date=2015-02-27|title=Opinion {{!}} Nothing Is Wrong With Your Sex Drive|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/opinion/nothing-is-wrong-with-your-sex-drive.html|access-date=2021-06-03|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|date=2016-03-01|title=Debate Over Addyi Flares Anew|url=https://www.medpagetoday.com/obgyn/generalobgyn/56481|access-date=2021-06-03|website=www.medpagetoday.com|language=en}} As of 2018 only about 600 prescriptions are filled every month according to Bloomberg.{{Cite news|last=Koons|first=Cynthia|date=June 13, 2018|title=The Women's Libido Pill Is Back, and So Is the Controversy|work=Bloomberg News|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-06-13/the-women-s-libido-pill-is-back-and-so-is-the-controversy}} In 2020 the FDA sent Sprout a warning letter regarding their marketing of the drug demanding the Sprout create "comprehensive plan for truthful, non-misleading, and complete corrective messages".{{Cite web|title=FDA warns Sprout for misleading Addyi come-on|url=https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/9/fda-warns-sprout-for-misleading-addyi-come-on|access-date=2021-06-03|website=www.raps.org}}{{Cite web|last=Commissioner|first=Office of the|date=2020-03-24|title=FDA orders important safety labeling changes for Addyi|url=https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-orders-important-safety-labeling-changes-addyi|access-date=2021-06-03|website=FDA|language=en}}{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

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