I�m going to begin by summarizing work that�s being done related to herbal medicines. I mentioned our study with the National Institute of Mental Health of St. John�s Wort. Let me give you some background and some idea of what we�re trying to achieve here. This is a medicinal herb that�s incredibly popular with $6 billion of sales in a single year in Europe by this survey in 1998. It�s used primarily for treatment of depression, other mood disorders -- anxiety disorders, many other conditions.

Like all plants, it�s a complex mixture of many chemical constituents. We know that at least one of those constituents, hyperforin, contributes to its antidepressant action, and we have learned that St. John�s Wort, while it may be active in depression and other clinical conditions, also interacts with drugs: birth control pills, AIDS drugs, and drugs important for preserving the survival of transplanted organs.

Now, it�s the background suggesting that St. John�s Wort was effective for depression that led my colleagues in 1998 to begin to design a study that has been conducted and, as I said, completed. Let me give you a sense of the background data and how it evolves in this somewhat contentious field.