Deal with hoodia ingredient falls through

THE international company Unilever is severing a multi-million euro arrangement with the British hoodia supplier Phytopharm after concluding the South African plant extract P 57 used in slimming pills did not meet safety and efficacy requirements.

Despite spending more than 20 million euro over four years researching and developing the ingredient in conjunction with Phytopharm, Unilever said it would halt the project.
‘Data suggests using the extract would not meet our safety and efficacy standards,’ said Unilever global media relations director Trevor Gorin.
‘We have entered talks with Phytopharm to end the partnership.’
Hoodia gordonii is a rare cactus plant growing in Namibia, Botswana and South Africa with an ingredient that signals to the brain that the stomach is full.
This knowledge has been used by the indigenous San to stem hunger pangs during droughts by eating the fleshy stems of the plant.
Over the past few years, sales of slimming tablets with the P57 ingredient have experienced an international boom and especially in Namibia several commercial and communal farmers in the southern parts of the country have turned to growing hoodia plants commercially from seeds, selling the dried stems to pharmaceutical companies.
Unilever and Phytopharm signed the deal in December 2004.
Unilver is an Anglo-Dutch company with offices in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and in London, UK, and employs about 180 000 people worldwide.
The split with Unilever, which was announced at the end of last month, left Phytopharm in some disarray, with chief executive officer Daryl Rees and chief financial officer Piers Morgan resigning over an undisclosed dispute about the terms of the dissolution.
A Phytopharm spokesperson said testing on liquid products revealed the ingredient metabolised too quickly, therefore rendering it redundant for use in Unilever’s Slimfast weight management range.
Analysts estimated Unilever’s withdrawal would suck about half the market value out of Phytopharm, whose stock price fell about 30 per cent since then.
Phytopharm gained a global licence to market it in 1997.
The South African Council of Science and Research (CSIR), which actually discovered the P57 ingredient and obtained a patent on it, entered a benefit-sharing agreement with the San Council of South Africa after San complained they were losing out on benefits derived from their knowledge.
The issue was only settled around 2002 when the CSIR apologised and ceremonially signed an agreement with the San Council agreeing to pay royalties.
In addition, Phytopharm has worked closely with the CSIR and opened a clinical supplies unit and a botanical supplies unit in South Africa. – nutraingredients.com

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.

The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.