It is now in Phase II trials and, if successful, will earn a windfall profit for the Kalahari bushmen who have been using the Hoodia plant to stave off hunger for thousands of years.
The new science of genomics -- understanding the links between genes and disease -- is also being brought to bear on obesity with the US group Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc working with Abbott on the first such genomics-derived product.
Millennium's drug, which started tests on humans last November, works by blocking an enzyme called carboxypeptidase that encourages the body to store fat. Inhibiting its action should prompt patients to burn fat instead.
Scientists do not expect to find a "smoking gun" in the form of a single gene that causes obesity. But by studying how genes differ in people who are overweight, Millennium and rivals like Iceland's deCODE Genetics Inc believe they can tease out new leads for treatment, although new drugs based on this knowledge are many years away.
Safety barrier
A truly effective anti-obesity pill would generate billions of dollars of sales -- but proving it is safe is always going to be the number one problem for eager pharmaceutical firms.
That means massive clinical studies, according to Paul Diggle, an industry analyst at WestLB Panmure in London, who says companies are now waking up to the fact that obesity drugs will be among the most costly and time-consuming to develop.
Evaluate's de Pass believes the drug industry has still to convince many medics and society at large that pricey medicines -- rather than simply eating less -- are the answer to obesity.
"It's a classic instance of the pharmaceutical industry turning something that has historically been perceived as a social problem into a disease," he said.
"Fifty years ago, high blood pressure was little more than a curiosity before it was realized it was a real threat to health. Obesity hasn't reached the point where it is considered an equal health risk, although it probably is."
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