Chinese medicine maker addresses global TCM gathering, bringing flagship heart pill to trial in Singapore
- Written by: Telegraph Magazine
Wang Lei, chairman of Da Ren Tang and president of Tianjin Pharmaceutical Group, addresses the congress.
According to a press report issued by China News Service (CNS), Tianjin Pharmaceutical Da Ren Tang Group, one of China's oldest pharmacy houses, also announced that it would conduct an international randomized, double-blind, controlled trial of its flagship heart remedy, sold in English as Suxiao Jiuxin Pills, in collaboration with Singapore General Hospital, the city-state's largest acute tertiary hospital.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0ac_rOwMNM
Wang Lei, chairman of Da Ren Tang and president of Tianjin Pharmaceutical Group, made both points in her address at the opening ceremony of the 23rd World Congress of Chinese Medicine in Singapore. She noted that Chinese medicine's holistic approach and pattern-based diagnosis give it an advantage in strengthening public health systems, and that the industry must demonstrate this through internationally recognized, verifiable evidence, the CNS report said.
The study marks the first time a Chinese proprietary medicine has undergone clinical trials at a major Western-medicine hospital in Singapore, the CNS report highlighted.
"We have always believed that Chinese medicine cannot stop at product exports," Wang said, adding that the trial would offer internationally recognized and verifiable clinical evidence.
The congress, hosted by the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies and organized by the Singapore Chinese Physicians' Association, ran Oct. 16-18 at Raffles City Convention Centre under the theme "Addressing Global Health Challenges, Integrating Chinese Medicine into National Health Systems." About 1,400 experts, officials and industry representatives from 25 countries and regions participated, the CNS report added.
Wang devoted much of her speech, titled "Gathering the Wisdom of Traditional Medicine to Shoulder the Global Mission of Health," to arguing that traditional medicine belongs in the global public health conversation rather than on its margins.
Chinese medicine's emphasis on the body as a whole, and on tailoring treatment to individual patients' symptom patterns, gives it a distinct advantage in strengthening public health systems, she noted.
For countries facing aging populations and a rising burden of chronic disease, TCM represents "a valuable solution with Eastern characteristics," Wang said, highlighting its contribution to China's "Health Silk Road" vision and its role in China's broader approach to global health governance.
Wang said Da Ren Tang's roughly 70 years of exporting, dating back to 1955, had taught the company that a remedy must suit the actual health needs of the people who take it rather than be shipped abroad merely as a cultural product.
She set out a three-part plan: concentrate clinical research on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, respiratory conditions, digestive health, musculoskeletal disorders and skin diseases, working with overseas medical institutions to turn traditional experience into evidence regulators can evaluate; follow international research norms while pursuing product registrations and high-quality studies abroad; and recognize that medical systems and regulatory cultures differ from country to country.
"We have to respect the medical systems and cultural contexts of each country and build an open, mutually trusting and mutually beneficial form of cooperation," Wang was quoted as saying by CNS.
According to the CNS report, the company is working with Singapore General Hospital on the study and hopes that solid results will help traditional medicine enter national health systems and reach more patients overseas.
Wang called on the congress to bring Chinese medicine standards into alignment with international rules, build platforms for sharing research results, and tell the story of Chinese medicine to the world.
Da Ren Tang traces its pharmacy lineage to 1522 and has been listed in Singapore since 1997. The company holds 122 exclusive products and 599 drug approval numbers, sells more than 150 products in more than 20 countries, and ranks among China's top five exporters of traditional Chinese medicine, according to the CNS report.
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