Provigil didn't start as a wakefulness drug. In the 1970s, French scientists at Lafon Laboratories were experimenting with a compound called Adrafinil to treat depression in the elderly.They noticed a strange "side effect": the test subjects weren't just less depressed; they were remarkably alert. Researchers soon discovered that the body was metabolizing Adrafinil into a more potent substance—Modafinil. This "active metabolite" became the Provigil we know today.