Hoodia Gordonii
For over 30 years the South African National Laboratory searched for the appetite hindering ingredient that was in Hoodia. Once they found it, they quickly applied for a patent and licensed it for use through Phytopharm.
Since then, Phytopharm has pumped more than $20 million dollars into research and development. A great example was clinical trials that were run on obese volunteers that have brought forth amazing results. The results were that volunteers who were given Hoodia ate 1,000 calories less a day than those who did not receive the Hoodia. To better understand this it is good to know how many calories the average male and female consume in a day. The average American male consumes around 2,600 calories and the female around 1,900. By taking Hoodia on a daily basis, one can feel the suppression of their appetite and see very dramatic results.
The big question is why a patent would be needed for a plant. The answer is that the plant itself is not patented, but the use of the plant as a weight loss substance is. Therefore no one other than Phytopharm should be able to use Hoodia as a weight loss substance without violating their patent on the substance.
Some companies have used Hoodia Gordonii (sometimes referred to and misspelled as Hoodia Gordinii) and the results from the clinical tests that were run by Phytopharm. For example Trimspa - the product that Anna Nicole Smith promoted - will tell you that their X32 pill contains 75mg of Hoodia. Trimspa continues to promote the product even though the United States FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has not tagged the product as a safe product to use.
Basically this is outright Highway Robbery. In essence these companies are stealing the data which they have no understanding or knowledge of and sticking that information on the bottle of the product they are selling and distributing them to the public. When the pills or product they are selling are examined, most show to only contain about 0.1% of the product.
But who should feel like they have been robbed? Roger Chennels, the lawyer who represents the Bushmen of South Africa (otherwise known as the "Sans") was appalled the moment that Phytopharm sent out a press release concerning the patent of the product.
"The San knew nothing about it. They gave the information that led directly to the patent," said, Chennells.
The Sans were left feeling as thought they had been the victims of Highway Robbery. The Sans along with their lawyer Chennels began to confront Phytopharm. Although the exact details of threats and letters that were sent to Phytopharm are unknown, the Sans wanted to let them know that a wrong was done.
Sans or Bushmen have been exploited for centuries and this just added fuel to the fire. They were pushed aside and nearly destroyed by both black tribes and white colonists. Also, around the turn of the century farmers from nearby areas were still allowed to go and kill Bushmen.
Even today in South Africa Bushmen are still oppressed. With high unemployment rates, little or no education, and alcoholism running rampant amongst the Bushmen, the Hoodia patent brought them down even more. Roger Chennels offered them a hand in filing suit against the National Laboratory.
The suit was filed and a settlement was reached. The terms of the settlement allowed an avenue for the Bushmen to receive millions from the marketing and sales of the product. So with the potential to receive a portion of the profits from the sale it looks as if the Bushmen will finally see their glory. If there are any profits to be had at all.
Hoodia’s future still very much hangs in the balance. Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company who funded a majority of the research performed by Phytopharm dropped out as the potential for making a pill form the active ingredient seemed bleak.
The active ingredient in Hoodia can be made synthetically, but the process is very difficult and expensive. After failed funding, Phytopharm made the decision to market in sale Hoodia in its natural form. In order to do this the Hoodia plant itself was needed.
So, with the rate of obesity skyrocketing in the United States, the demand for the Hoodia plant was vast. There is a larger demand for the plant and a smaller supply growing in the wild.
With this great demand Hoodia plantations have begun to pop up like crazy in South Africa. With such a great demand and the difficulty in starting a new crop quite a challenge has been proposed. The basic fact is that a wild crop is being grown and there are many different diseases and pest that farmers must deal with.
Although the implementation is new the success of Hoodia plantations is promising. Most of the farmers feel very confident in being able to meet the demand for Hoodia.
With the obesity epidemic growing in the United States they market will continue to grow and has the potential to be enormous. Phytopharm is expected to announce marketing plans for meal-replacement products that will be ready for grocery store shelves by 2008.
There is one major difference between the Hoodia that is grown in the wild, and the Hoodia that is mass produced. Mass produced Hoodia tends to be a little bitterer than wild Hoodia. Phytopharm stands by the product, and says that when the product hits the market it will be safe and effective. Oh yeah, and they promise it will taste good too.