Where will the next generation of medical treatments for overactive bladder syndrome come from?

This review article discusses the medical need for improved medical treatments of overactive bladder syndrome, and the hurdles and research required to address that need. Currently, few overactive bladder syndrome patients stay on long-term treatment, largely because efficacy expectations are not met, and tolerability is considered insufficient for the chronic treatment of a non-life-threatening condition. Therefore, a medical need exists for improved tolerability and, even more importantly, improved efficacy. It is unlikely that major improvements of efficacy and tolerability can be achieved within the currently approved drug classes. Work in experimental animals suggests that many causes of overactive bladder syndrome exist - each with a distinct pathophysiology. This makes it unlikely that a single medication can address the pathophysiology and treatment needs of all overactive bladder syndrome patients; accordingly, any medication will appear to have only moderate efficacy in the overall group of overactive bladder syndrome patients, even if it fully eliminates symptoms within a subset of patients. It is proposed that only identification of subsets of patients with a defined pathophysiology (and biomarkers thereof) will allow the development and use of targeted treatment that can be highly effective in such subsets.