TCM firm granted seal of approval during pandemic

Rising profile abroad

In addition to the flourishing domestic market, Yiling is also eyeing overseas opportunities.

In a host of videos and pictures of "health bags" handed out by China's embassies and consulates as an emergency aid measure to help overseas Chinese students fight the pandemic, which were shared on social platforms, Lianhua Qingwen was a standard item.

By the end of April, Yiling had made donations, in funds and products, totaling nearly 20 million yuan to fight the pandemic at home and abroad. These included Lianhua Qingwen capsules worth more than 3.5 million yuan in total to various countries including Italy, Thailand and Iraq via the Red Cross Society of China.

"The biggest challenge of exporting TCM is the difference in culture between China and Western countries," Wu said. "A lack of knowledge or understanding of TCM among overseas users, as well as different approval systems for pharmaceuticals in various countries, curbs the global promotion of TCM."

However, the situation has changed. "Especially in the fight against the pandemic, TCM has been widely used and proved to be effective in clinical treatment, enabling an increased profile and gaining acceptance globally," she said.

The company announced on June 29 that it had received the drug registration license for Lianhua Qingwen issued by the Food and Drug Department of Laos' Ministry of Health, thus making the list of the drug's export destinations even longer.

Besides Laos, it has also been approved to be put on the market in Brazil, Indonesia, Canada, Mozambique, Romania, Thailand, Ecuador and Singapore, as well as China's Hong Kong and Macao, according to the company.

At the same time, Yiling is stepping up preparations for registration of the drug in other countries.

Lianhua Qingwen was approved to enter the United States for its Phase II clinical studies by the US Food and Drug Administration in December 2015, one of the TCM compounds worldwide to receive FDA clinical research, the company said.

The research was initiated in Virginia in September 2016, according to a company statement.

Yiling has set up joint medical research centers in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to promote TCM internationalization.