Shanghai Develops Traditional Medicine

Shanghai plans to invest 1.02 billion yuan (about 123 million US dollars) into the development of traditional Chinese medicine in the next three years.

Between 2000 and 2002, the municipal government will invest 120 million yuan for the project, and the rest is expected to come from local enterprises and social organizations, the Wen Hui Daily reported.

By implementing the three-year plan, the municipal authorities expect to speed up the production of patent Chinese traditional medicines, the Shanghai-based newspaper said.

Over the past five years, Shanghai lagged behind the rest of the country in developing new patent herbal medicines.

Of the 863 new medicines approved by the Ministry of Health between 1994 and 1999, only 11, or one percent of the national figure, were produced in Shanghai, according to the newspaper.

In the next three years, Shanghai plans to cultivate ten major manufacturers in the sector and ten brand products each with an annual sales worth over one million yuan, the report said.

People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/