Traditional Chinese medicine R&D gets boost

The development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry got a boost from the central government after the National Commission of Development and Reform approved eight research and development projects on Aug 1, six of which in the TCM sector.

According to Lian Weiliang, vice-chairman of the commission, the move is to promote the combination of new technology and TCM, the improvement of industrial structures and the standardization of the industry.

The share prices of most TCM producers saw an increase in morning trading on Aug 2.

The measures approved by the commission are all lab construction projects, which are the foundation of R&D for TCM composition analysis, the chemical and technological studies of herbs, industrialization processes, new drugs research and data collection -primary work for formulation of TCM industry standards.

One of the projects is a lab to research cordyceps sinensis, an important medicinal fungus used in TCM. The research will be conducted by Gansu Qizheng Tibetan Medicine Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Tibet Qizheng Tibetan Medicine Group.

After the nation's medical care reform in 2009, China has attached great importance to infrastructure construction and talent training and retaining for the TCM industry.

Over the last three years, the central government invested 9.88 billion yuan ($1.55 billion) into construction and renovation of 2,342 city and county-level TCM hospitals.

The proportion of TCM practitioners among all doctors in China jumped to 12.2 percent from 10.3 percent five years ago.