Phytopharm's China agreement to expand functionals
licence agreement with The Beijing Institute, for the development
of novel functional foods and pharmaceuticals.
The agreement will enable Phytopharm to tap into The Beijing Institute's vast knowledge of library of patented compounds derived from traditional Chinese medicine. "We are excited about the collaboration and licence agreement with The Beijing Institute as it fulfils one of our strategic objectives of expanding our product portfolio with a novel functional food candidate for memory and concentration, an area in which we have established expertise," said Daryl Rees, CEO of Phytopharm. "The Beijing Institute's scientists bring significant knowledge on traditional Chinese medicine and we look forward to working with them to advance the lead product through clinical development," he added. Under the terms of the agreement, Phytopharm has been granted an exclusive licence to develop and commercialise products globally. After achieving certain pre-defined goals royalties and milestone payments will be due to The Beijing Institute. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. In China, traditional herbal preparations account for 30 to 50 per cent of the total medicinal consumption, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The global market for herbals currently stands at over $60bn annually and is growing steadily, which shows an increasingly wider acceptability of natural remedies. " We are delighted to be working with Phytopharm and proud that The Beijing Institute's extensive expertise and experience in traditional Chinese medicine has been recognized by Phytopharm and we look forward to a long and fruitful collaboration," said Xiaoming Yang, Head of The Beijing Institute.
