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The "Seminar on Research and Development of Chinese Medicines 2014" held by the Committee on Research and Development of Chinese Medicines concluded successfully today (September 5).
Co-organised by the Department of Health, the Hospital Authority (HA) and the Hong Kong Council for Testing and Certification, the two-day seminar was held at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
More than 20 guest speakers and over 500 representatives from the government, industry, academia and research sectors in Chinese and Western medicine-related fields attended the seminar.
Various important Chinese medicine topics, including Chinese medicine standards and standardisation, research and development (R&D) trends, clinical trials, and research and practice of integrative Chinese-Western medicine were discussed at the seminar.
The Chairperson of the Committee on R&D of Chinese Medicines and Commissioner for Innovation and Technology, Miss Janet Wong; the Director of Health, Dr Constance Chan; and the Director of the Cluster Services Division of the HA, Dr Allen Cheung, delivered welcoming remarks.
During the seminar, the Under Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, and the Director of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Standard Division of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission, Professor Shi Shang-mei, spoke on the latest progress in promoting the development of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong, and the latest development of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, respectively.
Two Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, namely Professor Zhang Bo-li, President of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine; and Professor Zhong Nan-shan, Director of the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, gave keynote presentations respectively on research advances in the modernisation of Chinese medicine, and the idea and practice of Chinese medicine in the treatment of respiratory diseases in Mainland China.
In addition, Director of the Kew Innovation Unit of Royal Botanic Gardens, United Kingdom, Professor Monique Simmonds; and Director of the National Institute of Complementary Medicine at the University of Western Sydney, Australia, Professor Alan Bensoussan, shared their research experience in Chinese medicine from an international perspective.
The seminar also covered topics on R&D related to the standardisation of Chinese medicine in the Mainland and Hong Kong, the regulation and sharing of experience in conducting Chinese medicine clinical trials in Hong Kong, and how to develop clinical practice guidelines in traditional Chinese medicine.
Under the theme "Integration of Chinese-Western Medicine for stroke treatment", experts and academics from the Mainland and Hong Kong shared their research findings and experience on the clinical treatment of strokes, including the latest developments in acute stroke management from the Western medicine perspective, drug-herb interactions on medications commonly used for strokes, the role of acupuncture and Chinese medicine in stroke care by integrated Chinese-Western medicine, and the use of Chinese medicine for post-stroke depression management.
Established in December 2011, the Committee on R&D of Chinese Medicines aims to more effectively orchestrate the efforts of government, industry, and the academic and research sectors in promoting the development of R&D and testing of Chinese medicines to meet future needs. The secretariat support to the Committee is provided by the Innovation and Technology Commission.
Ends/Friday, September 5, 2014
Issued at HKT 18:00
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