Slimming aid promises fat profits
THE battle of the bulge is taking place inms of households. Chocolate Easter eggs will this week test the willpower of many fatties. Obesity is on the increase, and how.
Around a third of people in the European Union are overweight and more than one in ten is now obese. By 2008 there will more than 170m European and 154m American adults who are obese.
The search to develop a new diet potion for the commercial slimming market continues apace and the upside for any company that successfully does so would be absolutely huge. Shareholders of Phytopharm are keeping all digits crossed that it could come up with the number one fat buster.
Shares of the botanical drug developer touched 45p and closed 4p better at 43p as buyers gorged themselves following news that the joint development programme for its weight loss product with Slimfast owner Unilever (2p dearer at 583p) will now move on to human clinical safety trials. It follows successful completion of the first stage of the project.
Phytopharm in December 2004 granted Unilever an exclusive licence to develop, manufacture and market a product derived from Hoodia gordonii, a rare succulent plant which was traditionally chewed by San tribesman in southern Africa. It was originally used to prevent these people from feeling hungry when food was scarce. It could also help with the opposite problem and stop people from pigging out.
Should clinical trials prove successful - and if the plant is proven to be safe - Unilever hopes to get a commercial slimming product based on hoodia on the shelves by 2008. Phytopharm would receive royalty payments on sales of all products containing the extract.
Fund managers' insatiable appetite for blue chips and an early 65-point rally on Wall Street helped the fabulous Footsie climb a further 40.9 points to a five-year peak of 6067.
Catering giant Compass led the advance, rising 9¼p to 238¾p on confirmation of the £1.82bn sale of its Upper Crust and Moto travel chains.
Record commodity prices helped mining stocks continue their relentless advance. Antofagasta jumped 76p to 2329p and Kazakhmys rose 35p to 1235p.
Vague takeover rumours accompanied a 67p gain to 2405p in Anglo American. It recently decided to reduce its shareholding in AngloGold Ashanti, the third-largest gold producer in the world, from 51% to around 42%. The sale should bring in up to $1bn.
Meanwhile, speculation persists that its subsidiary Mondi could be bought for around $8bn before it gets a chance to float on the London Stock Exchange. AA could soon be sitting on a mountain of cash, making it a prime takeover target.
BP gushed 12p to 693½p as the crude price rose above $67 a barrel amid reports the US is planning military strikes against Iran, increasing concerns supplies from the world's fourth largest producer may be disrupted.
Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline rose 17p to 1494p on hearing that Serono has terminated takeover discussions and taken itself off the market. Dealers had been concerned that GSK could have paid over the odds for Europe's largest biotech company.
Rumours of a pending upbeat circular lifted foods group RHM 10½p to 276¾p. Fears that the first case of bird flu in the UK could hit demand for chickens dragged Northern Foods 3¼p lower to 95¼p.
Music giant EMI sang out with a further speculative rise of 7p to 257p as talk of a merger with Warner Music continued to do the rounds. Analysts believe it's a no-brainer following recent restructuring carried out by both companies.
Carphone Warehouse buzzed 6¾p higher to 313½p ahead of today's investor day which coincides with the launch of its new free broadband strategy. Using local loop unbundling, CW is to offer a combined voice, line rental and broadband product, sparking a sector-wide price war.
European Goldfields improved 3½p to 205p after successfully converting its Romanian resources into reserves.
• CHAIRED by former BSkyB chief executive Tony Ball, who quit Rupert Murdoch's empire in 2003, Ingenious Media Active Capital begins trading on Aim today. The investment vehicle has raised £150m to invest in the media sector, on unquoted companies in television, music, film and interactive entertainment. Placed at 100p by broker Bridgewell, the shares should attain a useful premium.
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