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Phytopharm plc (PYM: London Stock Exchange) (Phytopharm) announces today the successful completion of the second stage of its clinical study of P57 for obesity. The objectives of this stage of the study include evaluation of the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic profile of P57, a patented oral product licensed to Pfizer Inc., which is under development as an appetite suppressant for the treatment of obesity..   
The third and final stage of the study has been designed to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and effects on daily calorie intake of P57 compared to placebo when administered repeatedly over at least 10 days to healthy, overweight volunteers. .

Obesity is a global problem, which affects more than 100 million people seriously enough to warrant medical intervention. It is a direct causal contributor to the pathophysiology of many diseases and exacerbates numerous others. Among these are five of the leading causes of death in the industrialized world: stroke, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. According to the World Heath

Organization (WHO), obesity accounts for tens of billions of pounds in direct healthcare costs worldwide. A panel of experts convened by WHO stated on 12 June 1997 that 'obesity's impact is so diverse and extreme that it should now be regarded as one of the greatest neglected public health problems of our time. It has an impact on health, which may well prove to be as great as that of smoking' (World Health Organization, 1997)

Dr Richard Dixey, Chief Executive of Phytopharm, said:

 'We are very encouraged by the results of the second stage of the study and await the completion in early November of the third and final stage of this proof of principle study'