On average, how many out of 4,000 drugs studied in the lab are eventually tested in people?

The correct answer is based on the very rigorous and selective process that drugs undergo in development, from initial laboratory studies to human trials. Statistical data indicates that out of approximately 4,000 compounds that enter preliminary research, only about 5 of these will eventually make it to the clinical trial stage in humans.

This low success rate is attributed to multiple factors: the complexity of disease mechanisms, the unpredictability of how a drug will behave in the human body, and strict regulatory standards that require significant evidence of safety and efficacy before a drug can be tested on humans. This stark filtering process ensures that only the most promising candidates based on efficacy and safety profiles are advanced for human trials, reflecting the extensive work that must occur prior to clinical testing.

The figures in the other choices are higher than what is typically observed in the pharmaceutical development pipeline, which emphasizes the challenging nature of drug development and the importance of thorough preclinical testing.