FHB welcomes announcement by Guangdong Province on arrangement of streamlining approval procedures for HK registered traditional pCms for external use to be registered in GBA
***************************************************************

     The Food and Health Bureau (FHB) today (August 27) welcomed the announcement made by the Guangdong Provincial Medical Products Administration on the arrangement of streamlining the approval procedures for Hong Kong registered traditional proprietary Chinese medicines (pCms) for external use to be registered and sold in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
      
     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has been maintaining close liaison with the relevant Mainland authorities to follow up the implementation of various measures favourable to the development of Chinese medicine in the GBA. The Guangdong Provincial Medical Products Administration promulgated today a notice regarding the streamlining of approval procedures for Hong Kong registered traditional pCms for external use. The holder of any traditional pCm for external use that has been registered with the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong and in use in Hong Kong for more than 5 years may apply for registration with the Guangdong Provincial Medical Products Administration through the streamlined procedures. Such pCm, upon successful approval, may be sold in the GBA.
      
     The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, said, "The HKSAR Government greatly welcomes the official implementation of the measure and expresses gratitude to the relevant authorities of the Central Government and Guangdong Province for their staunch support for the development of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong. Prior to this, the Mainland and Hong Kong have in place different registration regimes for the regulation of Chinese medicine products and applicants are required to make registration applications according to the respective requirements in the two places before the pCm may be sold in a place upon successful registration. The arrangement announced today enables Hong Kong pCm manufacturers to expand their markets, as well as creates favourable conditions for Hong Kong pCm to 'go global' in the long run. The HKSAR Government will actively promote the relevant measure to the Hong Kong pCm trade."
      
     To advance the development of Chinese medicine in the GBA, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine issued in September 2020 the Construction Plan for the Chinese Medicine Highlands in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (2020-2025). Major Hong Kong-related measures include: taking the opportunity of the development of the first Chinese medicine hospital (CMH) in Hong Kong to establish a GBA Chinese medicine consortium and CMH community; encouraging Hong Kong Chinese medicine practitioners to practise in Mainland public medical institutions; giving full play to Hong Kong's strengths as a Chinese medicine testing centre with a view to developing Hong Kong into an international hub for drug testing and quality control research for Chinese medicine; and streamlining the approval procedures for Hong Kong registered pCms for external use to be registered in the GBA, etc. Meanwhile, the National Medical Products Administration promulgated in November 2020 the Work Plan for Regulatory Innovation and Development of Pharmaceutical and Medical Device in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, entrusting the Guangdong Provincial Medical Products Administration to commence the relevant work in relation to streamlining the registration procedures for importing Hong Kong registered pCms for external use.

Ends/Friday, August 27, 2021
Issued at HKT 22:47

NNNN