Zyprexa

But such drugs have serious limitations.

Their side effects, including weight gain and sexual dysfunction, can be more debilitating than the original disorder.

And their effect on stuttering has not been extensively tested.Pagoclone, the experimental pill from Indevus, started its life in the 1990s as a potential psychiatric drug.

It was licensed to the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., which tested its effects on both panic and anxiety with mixed results.

It had few side effects, but tests didn't show clear improvements either.

Pfizer killed the program in 2002, sending Indevus stock into a tailspin.Indevus officials, however, were intrigued by a striking and unanticipated effect on test patients: Two of them suddenly stopped stuttering.''It really made us believe that it's worth investing the money to do a proper trial," said Jim Shipley, the company's vice president for medical affairs.Indevus re-acquired the rights to pagoclone, took out a fresh patent based on its possible use as a treatment for stuttering, and launched a new clinical trial designed to show whether it can help a broader population.

They have enrolled about half of the 120 patients they hope to test, and expect to have results by the middle of 2006.Indevus warns that even if the trial succeeds, a larger trial will need to follow, and approval wouldn't come for at least three years.But even if the drug ultimately ...

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