Phytopharm Research

Phytopharm was a United Kingdom-based pharmaceutical development company that specialized in the discovery and development of prescription medicines and functional foods derived from traditional plant-based sources. The company gained significant attention for its development of P57, an appetite suppressant derived from the Hoodia gordonii cactus, which was licensed to major partners like Unilever and Pfizer. Phytopharm also advanced a pipeline of candidates for neurodegenerative diseases, most notably Cogane (PYM50028) for Parkinson's disease. Following the failure of Cogane in Phase II clinical trials in 2013, the company underwent a reverse takeover by IXICO, a digital health company, effectively ending its operations as a standalone botanical drug developer.