A type of traditional Chinese medicine developed and manufactured in Shanghai will be included in a project being run by the Ministry of Science and Technology, local health authorities said over the weekend.

 

Shanghai Hutchison Pharmaceuticals Ltd has received 11.18 million yuan (US$1.64 million) from national and city-level science authorities and the company itself will invest another 20 million yuan over three years for laboratory and clinical research on the Shexiang Baoxin Pill, a TCM product developed 30 years ago by local pharmaceutical experts based on a 1000-year-old TCM formula.

 

The pill, which contains musk aroma and ginseng plus another four Chinese herbs, has been used by some 30 million patients over the past 30 years to treat coronary disease, chest pain and other cardiovascular problems.

 

Research has confirmed the pill can support cardiovascular function and the circulatory system by increasing blood flow and helping new blood vessels grow if blockages form in the heart.

 

“Over the next three years we aim to find the four or five compounds which help the heart function, protect the heart and treat heart disease”, said Zhou Junjie from Shanghai Hutchison. “All the research and development procedure will be the same as with Western medicine, which has higher requirements in analyzing its ingredients and safety. Only after we explain how the medicine works will our TCM medicine be recognized by Western countries.”

 

Xu Jinbai, director of the Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine Professional Association, said high-tech tests are the key to the industrialization and internationalization of TCM. He explained that the compound constitution, its stability, and the way it is metabolized after entering the body all must be thoroughly understood in order to market a TCM drug internationally.

 

沪上知名品牌中成药入选国家科技部项目

 

近日，记者从国家卫生部获悉，由上海市自主研发及生产的品牌中成药入选国家科技部项目。

 

作为沪上唯一的“国家重大新药创制”科技专项中药品种项目，国家科技部及上海市科委等相关部门将拨款1118万元用于麝香保心丸的临床及基础实验，同时其生产企业——上海long8 龙8国际药业也将于三年内配套资金2000多万元。

 

麝香保心丸源自宋代名方苏合香丸，组方包括麝香、人参等七位中药。成功研发应用30余年来，已累计造福超过3000万冠心病患者，成为防治冠心病的经典中成药。

 

近年来的研究结果还表明麝香保心丸具有促进心肌血管新生，恢复缺血心肌血供、改善心肌功能的作用。

 

上海long8 龙8国际药业总经理周俊杰介绍说：公司计划在未来三年内从麝香保心丸现已分离出的化合物中筛选3到4种对改善心脏功能、保护心脏、治疗关心病最直接有效的成分。所有的研发及实验步骤都将参照西药的研发标准，并且我们还对物质的安全性提出了更高的要求。只有充分析清药物的作用机理，中药才能赢得更多的国际接纳和尊重。

 

上海中药行业协会会长许锦柏表示中药国际化与现代化之路的实现依赖于高科技的支持。中药走向世界的前提是对其物质组成、成份稳定性、药物体内的代谢情况的充分了解。

 

国家食品药品监督管理局目前已开展一项针对中药农药残留、重金属含量、有效成分及物质基础的标准化研究，上海预计今年将有166种中成药入围此项目。