Deadline could spell demise of TCM in Europe
By Wang Qingchu |
April 14, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
TRADITIONAL Chinese medicine could soon disappear from Europe - one of the world's biggest herbal medicine markets with annual sales of 5 billion euros (US$7.25 billion) - because Chinese pharmaceutical companies are set to miss an April 30 registration deadline.
The EU Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products issued in 2004 requires manufacturers of traditional and over-the-counter herbal remedies to register before that date. Otherwise their products can't be sold in EU countries, the People's Daily reported yesterday.
The newspaper quoted Liu Zhanglin, vice president of China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Medicines and Health Products (CCMHPIE), as saying: "Some domestic producers of traditional medicine filed their applications with the EU. But due to various reasons, not a single company has registered successfully."
Chinese companies and professionals in the traditional medicine business face the risk of fines after the deadline if they continue to operate.
A wait-and-see attitude dominated among Chinese companies because sales of Chinese medicines in the EU market were not significant. Most of the companies were deterred by the high cost of registration, Liu said.
To register a single type of Chinese medicine costs around 1 million yuan (US$152,063). As each company usually produces several types of medicine, the cost soon mounts up.
The EU directive also stipulated that all traditional medicines must have been in use for at least 30 years, including 15 years in the EU, while the majority of Chinese pharmaceutical companies were unable to present effective proof that their products had been sold in the EU for that period of time.
"Many foreigners consider traditional medicine a symbol of China's rich culture. They started to trust Chinese medicine after a long time of treatment," said Lin Guoming, a doctor who has run a Chinese medicine clinic in Brussels for nearly 21 years.
One of Lin's cancer patients has taken traditional Chinese medicine for a long time to control the disease. Now he may have to advise him to buy medicine from non-EU countries, Lin said, adding more than 90 percent of his patients were locals.
Traditional Chinese medicines lack a cultural identity in Europe, said an official of Beijing's Tong Ren Tang, a famous drug store of traditional Chinese medicines.
The official told the newspaper he hoped the government could intervene to negotiate with the EU.
Producers will be seriously affected if they can't register in the EU and the policy will also have a major impact on people who work in the industry there, a figure estimated at more than 50,000, Liu said.
Liu said the CCMHPIE has been helping Chinese companies organize to lobby and negotiate with EU officials.
The EU Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products issued in 2004 requires manufacturers of traditional and over-the-counter herbal remedies to register before that date. Otherwise their products can't be sold in EU countries, the People's Daily reported yesterday.
The newspaper quoted Liu Zhanglin, vice president of China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Medicines and Health Products (CCMHPIE), as saying: "Some domestic producers of traditional medicine filed their applications with the EU. But due to various reasons, not a single company has registered successfully."
Chinese companies and professionals in the traditional medicine business face the risk of fines after the deadline if they continue to operate.
A wait-and-see attitude dominated among Chinese companies because sales of Chinese medicines in the EU market were not significant. Most of the companies were deterred by the high cost of registration, Liu said.
To register a single type of Chinese medicine costs around 1 million yuan (US$152,063). As each company usually produces several types of medicine, the cost soon mounts up.
The EU directive also stipulated that all traditional medicines must have been in use for at least 30 years, including 15 years in the EU, while the majority of Chinese pharmaceutical companies were unable to present effective proof that their products had been sold in the EU for that period of time.
"Many foreigners consider traditional medicine a symbol of China's rich culture. They started to trust Chinese medicine after a long time of treatment," said Lin Guoming, a doctor who has run a Chinese medicine clinic in Brussels for nearly 21 years.
One of Lin's cancer patients has taken traditional Chinese medicine for a long time to control the disease. Now he may have to advise him to buy medicine from non-EU countries, Lin said, adding more than 90 percent of his patients were locals.
Traditional Chinese medicines lack a cultural identity in Europe, said an official of Beijing's Tong Ren Tang, a famous drug store of traditional Chinese medicines.
The official told the newspaper he hoped the government could intervene to negotiate with the EU.
Producers will be seriously affected if they can't register in the EU and the policy will also have a major impact on people who work in the industry there, a figure estimated at more than 50,000, Liu said.
Liu said the CCMHPIE has been helping Chinese companies organize to lobby and negotiate with EU officials.
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