Centre for Chinese Herbal Medicine Drug Development

Traditional Wisdom Innovative Drugs

For thousands of years, Chinese medicine was used in the prevention and treatment of diseases as well as for health maintenance through strengthening and enhancing normal body functions. In recent years, Hong Kong has focused on the translation of Chinese medicinal wisdom into pharmaceutical products using cutting-edge technology. A number of new Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) based drugs have been successfully developed in Hong Kong and used for different treatments of diseases. One notable success was a drug co-developed by the Hong Kong Baptist University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong for treating irritable bowel syndrome.

The Centre is established to perform Chinese herbal medicine research in Hong Kong through collaboration with local and international partners.

The Centre is established to perform Chinese herbal medicine research in Hong Kong through collaboration with local and international partners.

The Centre develops treatments and cures for gastrointestinal diseases such as ulcerative colitis and chronic constipation.

To accelerate the development of CHM-based drugs, the Centre for Chinese Herbal Medicine Drug Development Limited (the Centre) has been established as a strategic platform for promoting collaborations among local and international researchers, institutions and the industry. The Centre aims to enhancing the quality of pre-clinical and clinical CHM research and transforming the results into pharmaceutical products for international markets. In particular, it develops treatments and cures for diseases such as ulcerative colitis and chronic constipation.

The Centre will create a platform for the development of CHM-based drugs, including the functional units of pre-clinical and clinical studies such as pharmacognosy, pharmacology, toxicology, pharmacokinetics/ pharmacodynamics, omics and bioinformatics. It also supports the incubation of new CHM-based pharmaceutical start-ups that will target global markets, and nurtures talent for CHM research in Hong Kong. The Centre is also prepared to facilitate the development of the first-ever Chinese Medicine Hospital in Hong Kong which will be in operation by 2024.