How would you prioritize two active compounds with different potency and solubility?

Why

Confirm identity and purity, repeat concentration-response curves and check for aggregation or readout interference. Then measure kinetic or biochemical potency under matched conditions and test cellular engagement at achievable unbound concentrations. A nominally 10 nM inhibitor that precipitates before reaching cells may be a worse starting point than a soluble 100 nM inhibitor with reliable target engagement.

Inspect permeability, metabolic stability, off-target activity and opportunities for chemical optimization. Evaluate whether the selected assay reflects the desired mechanism: an enzyme IC50 is sensitive to substrate and assay settings, and a cell EC50 includes transport and cellular biology. Build a multi-parameter decision table and report uncertainty rather than turning one metric into a universal ranking.

If the candidates target a difficult disease site, accessible tissue exposure could dominate potency.