Research Update

10 Apr 2006 07:01

Phytopharm PLC10 April 2006 Company Contact: U.K. Investor Relations Contact:Phytopharm plc Financial DynamicsDr Richard Dixey David Yates / Ben Atwell+44 7867 782000 +44 207 831 3113Dr Daryl Rees+44 1480 437 697www.phytopharm.com Phytopharm successfully progresses to second stage of Joint Development Agreement for Hoodia gordonii extract with Unilever Second stage includes clinical safety studies GODMANCHESTER, Cambridgeshire, U.K. (10 April 2006) - Phytopharm plc (LSE: PYM;NASDAQBB: PHYOF; PHYOY) ("Phytopharm") announces today that it has successfullycompleted the first stage of the Joint Development Agreement for Hoodia gordoniiextract with Unilever and will now progress to the second stage which includesclinical safety studies. Under the terms of the agreement, Phytopharm and Unilever are collaborating on afive-stage research and development programme of safety and efficacy studieswith a view to bringing new weight management products to market. As part of theagreement announced in December 2004, Unilever committed to initial payments ofapproximately £6.5 million for the first stage and for the second stage have nowcommitted to a further £3.5 million out of a potential total of £21 million inpayments to Phytopharm. In addition Phytopharm will receive an undisclosedroyalty on sales of all products containing the extract. Unilever is alsomanaging a separate agronomy programme and supporting the international patentprogramme for the products. Phytopharm licensed the global patent rights for the extract of Hoodia gordonii,a plant indigenous to South Africa, for incorporation into weight loss productsfrom the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in1997. Commenting on today's announcement, Richard Dixey, Chief Executive Officer ofPhytopharm, said: "We are delighted with our collaboration with one of the world's leading foodcompanies. Our partnership with Unilever provides a fully funded programme andwe look forward to generating royalty income from our partner's globallyrecognised brands." Commenting on today's announcement, Kevin Povey, Project Leader at Unilever,said: "We are satisfied with the good progress to date and look forward to advancingthis product through clinical trials." -ENDS- NOTES TO EDITORS Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1 billionadults overweight - at least 300 million of them clinically obese - and is amajor contributor to the global burden of chronic disease and disability(Source: World Health Organisation). Phytopharm plc Phytopharm is focused on the research and development of novel pharmaceuticaland functional food products based on clinical and pre-clinical data generatedfrom medicinal plant extracts. The Company has seven development programmes infour disease areas: neurodegeneration, obesity and metabolic disease,dermatology and inflammation and has a portfolio of two marketed veterinaryproducts. More information concerning Phytopharm's activities can be found on its web siteat http://www.phytopharm.com This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning ofSection 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S.Securities Exchange Act of 1934 with respect to the financial condition, resultsand business achievements/performance of Phytopharm and certain of the plans andobjectives of its management. These statements are statements that are nothistorical facts. Words such as "should", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "believes" or similar expressions, as they relate to Phytopharm,are intended to identify forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they reflectPhytopharm's current expectations and assumptions as to future events andcircumstances that may not prove accurate. There is no guarantee that theexpected events, trends or results will actually occur. Any changes in suchassumptions or expectations could cause actual results to differ materially fromcurrent expectations./ This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange