China's military medical academy announced on Friday that it
would licence a British company to use the patent of its new
anti-dementia drug based on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM),
opening up a new avenue to the international market for TCM
products.
After ten years of efforts, a group led by Ma Baiping of the
Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS) of the People's
Liberation Army has finished pre-clinical research for its new
anti-dementia drug, dubbed NJS, which is derived from TCM
substances.
Under the deal, the academy will sell the patent licence to
U.K.-based Phytopharm plc, disclose key NJS technologies, and rely
on the pharmaceutical firm to do clinical trials and promote the
product in the international market.
"This is the first time China has sold a TCM patent licence to a
foreign firm and it represents a major stride toward international
credibility," said AMMS President Sun Jianzhong.
The deal gives TCM a better chance of penetrating the
international market, he added.
Phytopharm chief executive officer Dr. Daryl Rees said that
western countries have some negative perceptions of TCM. Many TCM
drugs contain ingredients that can not be identified by western
pharmaceutical standards, making them still very hard to get market
entry approval as new herbal drugs.
They have a very different concept on TCM products' being safe,
effective and controllable, Ma said.
"Foreign firms can adopt a global approach in clinic research of
NJS as well as its market strategy, helping find a new way for TCM
to enter the international market," said Ma.
Linking up with an overseas company that can carry out clinical
research and market promotion will help boost the credibility of
TCM in the international market, Rees said.
Pre-clinical results were very "exciting", he said, and he had
an optimistic forecast for the new medicine.
When it began laboratory research, the AMMS patented NJS both in
China and in its potential markets such as Europe, Japan, the
Republic of Korea and the United States.
"China's TCM manufacturers are now more aware of patent
protection," Sun said.
Both sides declined to disclose the value of the deal.
Dementia is a condition characterized by a progressive decline
of mental abilities -- including loss of memory -- accompanied by
changes in personality and behavior. Alzheimer's disease is the
most common form of dementia.
With ageing populations swelling worldwide, the potential for a
holistic new dementia treatment is enormous.
(Xinhua News Agency June 24, 2007)