Cordis News Report Bush Medicine Set to Deliver Breakthrough
Obesity Remedy. - 08.01.2003
A cactus native to the Kalahari Desert region of southern Africa
and used by indigenous San bushmen to stave off hunger during long
hunting expeditions is to be developed into a remedy to fight obesity.
The six foot plant, called Hoodia, contains an active ingredient
which research has shown could reduce appetite by up to 2,000 calories
a day. The remedy was originally patented by the South African Council
for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and licensed by British
company Phytopharm. The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is now developing
a pill based on the plant, also known as P57, which they hope will
banish food cravings and have a major impact on the six billion
euro global slimming aid market.
More than 100 million people worldwide are thought to be at risk
from conditions related to obesity, such as heart disease and diabetes.
Pfizer hopes that the remedy, which has already been tested on healthy
volunteers in Britain, will be available in pill form by 2007.
Phytopharm and the CSIR came in for criticism when it was revealed
that the two sides had made financial arrangements for development
of the drug without consulting the San tribe, who's traditional
knowledge led to the discovery of Hoodia's appetite-suppressing
properties.
The explanation offered by Phytopharm chief executive Richard Dixey
was that he thought the nomadic people had died out. Since discovering
that around 100,000 San still populate regions of Angola, South
Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, a deal has been struck that will
see the bushmen receive a proportion of the profits from the sale
of the drug.
The very existence of the San tribe had been in question, with
a dispersed population and lack of opportunities creating the very
real threat of extinction. Under the new deal, it is hoped that
millions of euro could be generated each year to fund education
programmes, create jobs, and allow the San to buy land.
All of which should ensure a healthy future for the tribe, as well
as those set to benefit from the new wonder drug. In one way or
another, the survival of the San owes much to the special properties
of the Hoodia plant.
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