Re Agreement

Phytopharm PLC
7 November 2000

                Enters option agreement for new plant therapies
                                       
Phytopharm plc (PYM: London Stock Exchange) ('Phytopharm') announces today
that it has entered an option agreement to evaluate three plant therapies for
chronic autoimmune diseases.  These have been originated by Dr Ba Hoang, an
experienced Vietnamese herbal practitioner who studied for an MD and PhD in St
Petersburg, Russia, and Dr. Stephen Levine of Berkeley, California, a
biochemist who is the author of a leading book on anti-oxidative adaptation.

Phytopharm will commence an early evaluation programme of a treatment for
chronic Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), followed by treatments for
Chronic Glomerulonephritis (CG) and asthma.

Extensive patient records have been gathered concerning the successful
treatment of chronic ITP with a formula containing extracts of three medicinal
plants.  ITP is an autoimmune disease where antibodies are produced against
platelets leading to a decrease in their number.  It is the most common
autoimmune bleeding disorder seen by paediatricians with a prevalence of 58 to
66 new cases per million people per year (Source: Annals of Internal Medicine,
1997).  Up to 20% of children and almost all adult ITP patients develop the
chronic form of the disease leading to severe thrombocytopenia and bleeding
(Source: International Journal of Hematology, 2000). Therapy for this form of
ITP is often expensive and runs the risk of developing adverse effects at a
later stage.

Data is also being collected concerning the treatment of Chronic
Glomerulonephritis (CG) and asthma.  CG is a severe disorder characterised by
the inflammation and gradual progressive destruction of the internal
structures of the kidney.  Damage to these structures leads to the loss of
protein and blood into the urine.  Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of
the airways which affects 150 million people world-wide (Source: World Health
Organisation).  The cost of managing this disease is very high.  In 1998 the
estimated cost of care in the US was $11.3 billion, almost twice the estimated
cost in 1990 ($6.2 billion) (Source: World Health Organisation).  It is the
leading cause of hospitalisation in children.

Phytopharm will collect clinical data in conjunction with Drs Hoang and Levine
and conduct early phase evaluations prior to a full development programme.

Dr Richard Dixey, Chief Executive of Phytopharm, said:

'This agreement underlines our commitment to seek medicines based on
traditional medicinal materials for diseases that are poorly managed in the
developed world.  Dr Hoang and Dr Levine have collected an impressive array of
clinical anecdotes concerning the success of their medicines, and Phytopharm
has the technology to take them into early clinical evaluation in a controlled
manner.'

                                    
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.
Phytopharm was recently awarded top place in the Deloitte and Touche Fast 50
award for the fastest growing high technology companies in the Cambridge
region.

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.