Unilever/Phytopharm announce success

On April 10, Unilever announced they were successfully able to extract the molecule from hoodia gordonii in an effective form to be used as a weight loss product.  Human trials are underway, and the first stage has completed.  The product is expected to be for sale in 2008.
The yet-to-be-named treatment is expected to be launched in 2008, after first-stage tests showed it is commercially viable to produce the extract. Phytopharm and Unilever are embarking on clinical trials in the second stage of the project to make sure it works on humans and is safe to use. At the same time, Unilever is running a separate agronomy programme to determine whether the cactus, which takes 50 years to reach maturity, can be grown commercially.