Research Update

Phytopharm PLC
5 October 2000



                                Phytopharm plc

        Positive results of Phase II trial in canine atopic dermatitis
                                       
Phytopharm plc (PYM: London Stock Exchange) ('Phytopharm') announces today the
results  of  a randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled study of  P7,  its
novel,   patented  botanical  product  for  the  treatment  of  canine  atopic
dermatitis (perennial canine eczema).

Forty-seven  dogs with atopic dermatitis (confirmed by positive  skin  allergy
tests)  were entered into the study, which was conducted at the Department  of
Small Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Minnesota, USA. Twenty-four dogs
were randomly allocated to receive daily treatment with P7 and 23 dogs placebo
(inactive)  therapy for up to 8 weeks.  The veterinary surgeon and the  owners
were  not  aware  of the treatment allocation.  The outcome measures  included
changes in skin erythema (redness), severity of pruritis (scratching) and  the
owners'  overall  assessment  of response. These  indices  were  analysed  for
statistical significance using non-parametric two group comparisons.

The  owners  reported that 38% of the dogs were improved or markedly  improved
after  being  treated with P7 compared to only 13% of those treated  with  the
placebo (p=0.09). There was also a notable reduction in the extent of erythema
(p=0.075)  and scratching (p=0.15) in the dogs that received P7.  Furthermore,
57%  of  the  dogs in the placebo group were withdrawn from treatment  due  to
worsening  of  their condition compared with only 25% of the dogs  in  the  P7
group,  which  is  a  highly significant result (p=0.039). The  treatment  was
generally well tolerated with no serious adverse events recorded.

There  are  approximately 100 million dogs in the US with similar  numbers  in
Europe  and  Japan. This number gives rise to a global market for  health  and
nutrition  products  used  by  dogs and cats of  $2.21  billion  (Vivash-Jones
Consultants-1999). As a condition, atopic dermatitis is more  common  in  dogs
than  cats, and estimates put the percentage of the canine population affected
by the condition at as much as 15% (Source; Animal Pharm 1998).

Commenting on the results, Professor S Torres (Head of Dermatology, Department
of  Small  Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Minnesota),  said: 'Canine
atopic  dermatitis is a common and clinically significant problem.   The  only
highly  effective treatments currently available are associated with a lot  of
unwanted  side  effects.  This  important study  indicates  that  Phytopharm's
product P7 shows great potential for the management of this condition.'

Dr  Richard Dixey, Chief Executive, added: 'This is a very encouraging  result
which  supports  the  use  of P7 for the treatment  of  this  canine  disease.
Discussions  are  in progress with a number of potential licensees  concerning
the next steps in the commercialisation of this exciting product.'
                                       
                                       


Enquiries:

Phytopharm plc                                     Tel:  [phone]
Richard Dixey, Chief Executive

Financial Dynamics                                 Tel:  [phone]
David Yates / Sophie Pender-Cudlip



NOTES TO EDITORS

Phytopharm plc

Phytopharm's business is to take both simple and complex mixtures derived from
plant  sources  into full pharmaceutical development.  The US  Food  and  Drug
Administration call such medicinal products 'Botanicals'.  Botanical  products
are  whole  or  partially purified extracts of medicinal plants in  which  the
chemical composition is not fully characterised. Apart from being a new sector
in the pharmaceutical market, Botanicals also act as an enabling technology to
discover single chemical entities of clinical importance from plant sources.

Phytopharm   is   the  leading  company  in  the  development   of   botanical
pharmaceuticals.  It has developed a portfolio of 11 such  products,  nine  of
which are in the clinical evaluation phase.  These products have been targeted
in   the   five   therapeutic  categories  of  anti-inflammatory   treatments,
neurological disorders, dermatology, cancer and metabolic diseases.  In  1997,
Phytopharm was granted an Investigational New Drug (IND) approval in  the  US.
The  guidelines for the registration of botanical products have recently  been
published by the FDA.

More  information concerning Phytopharm's activities can be found on  its  Web
site at http://www.phytopharm.co.uk.