Testing a drug in humans costs hundreds of millions of dollars, so making the right decision for which chemical to test can be quite stressful. Gavin Whitlock of Pfizer described the "very calculated risk" scientists took when deciding to test a drug called PF-184298 in humans to treat stress urinary incontinence.
The disorder is currently treated with an antidepressant called duloxetine.
Whitlock mentioned that during the search for the right chemical, his team had some funny and unexpected moments. While evaluating some chemicals that initially looked like good drug candidates, the team unintentionally caused their test animals, mice and dogs, to urinate uncontrollably.
Luckily, after a lot more testing, they found a compound that actually stopped urination, so they figured that'd be a pretty good incontinence drug. But the decision to test it in humans was a tough one because it was not as effective in some animals as the researchers predicted with their in vitro tests.
