Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have realized that they must beef up scientific research and industrialize production processes if TCM is to consolidate its position in domestic and overseas markets.
Starting from early this year, the central government sponsored a two-year research project for the modernization and industrialization of TCM.
A total of 224 academies, universities and enterprises have joined the project, in which 680 million yuan (US$81 million) has been invested.
This project and countless other ongoing research programs undertaken by Chinese academies and enterprises will help standardize TCM quality, make TCM medicines easier for patients to take, and improve the image of TCM among foreigners.
The lack of strict evaluation standards and a standardized quality control system, the low level of scientific data and limited industrialization of production methods are seen as the main causes of the inferior position of TCM in world markets.
As medicines made from natural materials are receiving more and more attention from people, many countries have strengthened the research and development of traditional medicines.
The capacity of the world's herb medicines market will reach US$84 billion in the coming three years, according to Fan Jiping, deputy director of the Science and Education Department under the State Administration of TCM.
China occupies only 5 percent of the international plant and herbal medicine market, which has annual sales of US$15.9 billion at present. And most of the export value is in raw materials and health care products.
In contrast, enterprises in many developed countries, such as Japan and Italy, buy raw materials from China and then make them into high-tech and high-quality medicines which they then sell to China and other countries and regions at high prices.
In addition, more than 2,000 TCM research institutes have been established in 64 countries and regions around the world.
Advanced research capabilities and abundant investment funding have helped foreign enterprises register about 10 patents for traditional Chinese medicines in recent years.
Fan noted that more than 10 countries and regions from around the world have registered nearly 40 kinds of natural medicines in China.
About 90 percent of traditional Chinese medicines do not have patent protection.
In China, less than 5 percent of the country's 5,000 TCM enterprises have comprehensive, roboticized, controlled-flow production.
And many small and medium-sized enterprises and hospitals still have to depend on poor-quality product lines and technology.
About 500 kinds of medicinal ingredients in common use of the total 13,000 TCM medicinal materials still have no scientific quality criteria.
(China Daily October 10, 2002)
