Africa's Bushmen May Get Rich From Diet-Drug Secret - Part II
Leon Marshall in
Johannesburg
for National Geographic News
April 16, 2003
Defining Moment
for the San
For the San the
agreement could be a defining moment as it could mark a turn for the
better in ways other than a financial windfall.
In terms of the deal,
the CSIR will pay the San 8 percent of milestone payments made by
its licensee, UK-based Phytopharm, during the drug's clinical
development over the next few years. This could come to more than a
million dollars.
The biggest revenue
stream could come from 6 percent royalties the San would receive if
and when the drug is marketed by the international drug giant
Pfizer, which has in turn been licensed by Phytopharm. Given the
international demand for obesity drugs, the market for P57 could run
to billions of dollars.
The South African San
Council was stung into action by a reported remark by a Pfizer
representative to the effect that the San had used the Hoodia
but that they were extinct. This was in answer to questions by
journalists whether the San could expect compensation for their
contribution to the prospective blockbuster drug
South
African human rights lawyer Roger Chennels, who took up the San's
case, said they immediately challenged the CSIR. "The negotiations
were tough, but the San had the moral high ground. Once their moral
ownership of the intellectual property rights was recognized, and
once they wisely agreed to enter into a partnership, the dealings
became reasonable," Chennels said.
Though the South
African San Council was set up in 2001 to represent the country's
Khomani, !Xun, and Khwe tribes, a trust has been set up (please see
side bar) that will share the money with other San groups in
neighboring Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Angola. This is in
recognition of the fact that indigenous knowledge, as with the
Hoodia plant, is mostly shared by tribes across national
boundaries.
The San are southern
Africa's oldest human inhabitants, having lived in the sub-continent
for at least the past 20,000 years and possibly going back 40,000
years. But from the many, possibly even millions, who once roamed
the plains and mountains, only about 100,000 remain.
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