Hats off to drug company Indevus Pharmaceuticals for its persistence in trying to find a health problem for its drug pagoclone. The drug started life as a therapy for panic disorders, but this approach was abandoned after research found it didn't help. Then it was pushed forward as a solution to premature ejaculation, but again the company had to admit that the drug was not effective.
Possibly out of sympathy, officials at America's drug regulator, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), suggested to distressed Indevus staff that they might like to try out the drug on children and adolescents who stutter.
"We are pleased to follow the guidance of the FDA," said a relieved Dr Glenn Cooper, the company's president, chief executive and chairman.
A study labelled by Dr Cooper as "the largest ever trial for stuttering" - which sounds impressive but actually involved 132 stutterers - gave the drug the thumb's up.
Now it's the toast of local newspapers throughout the USA. One interviewed former stutterer John Ohman, whose life has been transformed since he started taking pagoclone. "I think the new medicine is going to be an answer to a lot of prayers," he told reporters.
I think we can all thank the FDA.