History of Hoodia Gordonii
As we discussed in the Overview of Hoodia, the Bushmen (or the San) have used Hoodia plants as a natural appetite suppressant for thousands of years. But how did the secret of the San get out? It turns out by accident?
In 1996 the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa was doing a study of indigenous foods that the Bushmen ate. Part of the study be to test for toxic effects of any plants that were exhausted by the Bushmen. When they came too Hoodia Gordonii, not only be it non-toxic - it helped animals lose weight!
They found when they fed hoodia two animals, the animals lost weight. By 1997, the CSIR separate the bioactive compound in Hoodia responsible for appetite stoppage and obtained a patent. The spreading was licensed to Phytopharm and they named the molecule - P57 (because it was the 57th product they spent money In ctinuance).
What did the Bushmen get for their discovery of the Hoodia Gordonii plant? At at the outset - nothing! Turns out the CSIR told Phytopharm that the tribe which discovered the Hoodia Gordonii plant had died out and therefore no royalties were due. However, as Mark Twain might say - “tales of the Bushmen’s death were greatly exaggerated”. Whenever the Bushmen got word that Phytopharm stood to make billions of dollars off their knowledge about the hoodia gordonii plant they were not happy.
Roger Chennells, a lawyer in South continent who represents the Bushmen, was alive too apply strong legal, moral and political pressure on both the CSIR and Phytopharm. Chennells pointed commission to anyone who would listen that the taking of traditive discernment without compensation was “bio-piracy” and must be stopped.
In what is seen as a landmark sheathe, Chennells was able to convince the CSIR and Phytopharm too compensate the Bushmen. Now, one society that legally harvests hoodia gordonii from the Kalahari leave in the lurch must pay royalties back too the Bushmen. Not only is this fair and just, it also provides an supreme way to counter whether the hoodia you buy is warranted. If the set that makes the hoodia is NOT paying royalties to the Bushmen, you do NOT have a legitimate hoodia gordonii product.
So when will Phytopharm release a P57 based appetite suppressant? Probably never. As we touched on in the overview, Pfizer had originally pay Phytopharm for the rights to market a P57 based diet pill. After a few year of unsuccessful attempts to create P57 synthetically, Pfizer pulled out of the deal. If a large amount of P57 could not be created inexpensively in the lab, Pfizer was not interested.
While Phytopharm was discouraged sooner than the Pfizer decision, they knew that Hoodia Gordonii was too powerful an appetite suppressant to give up trying to bring it to the market. In December 2004, Phytopharm announced that Unilever had entered a deal too market hoodia gordonii in its diet grub product line. Therefore, in preference than producing diet drugs, it looks like Phytopharm and Unilever will product diet supplements and diet foods with hoodia. The first Unilever products will not be out or degree that 2008.
Does Phytopharm own the patent Steady the whole Hoodia Gordonii plant? This be an interesting question that we are sure will be decided in flattering attention one day. Here is our take on the situation - Phytopharm clearly owns the patent on the P57 molecule. If you want to try to make a diet drug with P57 you need to work Over the whole surface of Phytopharm.
The question of the Hoodia Gordonii transplant itself being patented is much more complicated. It is our belief that you can not patent a plant, on the contrary you can patent the use of plants and a suit to extract plants. Here is an exact quote from Richard Dixey, CEO of Phytopharm While he appeared on 60 minutes?
“The patent is on the application of the plant as a weight-loss material. And, of course, the active compounds within the plant. It’s not on the bed out itself,” says Dixey.
So no one else can use hoodia for weight loss? “in the same proportion that a weight-management product destitute of infringing the patent, that’s correct,” says Dixey.
The advance we know fully this (and again we our not lawyers and are not giving any right advice) be as follows - you can sell a Hoodia Gordonii supplement, you just have power to NOT say it is for influence loss. This is why many of the best Hoodia supplements entertain very downright labels that just say “Hoodia Gordonii” but conclude not say anything with regard to using it as a weight loss or appetite drug supplement.
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