Cultural Heritage
Lei Jufang, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, says that the marginalization of some classic prescriptions represents a significant loss.
Release time:
2016-03-06 10:02

On March 6, the fifth session of the “Healthy Chinese—National Two Sessions Health E-Living Room” series of roundtable forums, jointly organized by People's Daily Online Health, Health Times, and the China Pharmaceutical Materials Association, was held, with the theme “Pharmaceutical Innovation.” Lei Jufang, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Chairwoman of Qizheng Tibetan Medicine, stated that the marginalization of some classic prescriptions represents a significant loss of pharmaceutical resources. To ensure these prescriptions meet societal needs, substantial efforts must be made to make up for past shortcomings.
Lei Jufang believes that pharmaceutical innovation does not necessarily mean that only new structures or newly discovered ancestral remedies qualify as innovations. An equally important direction for innovation lies in finding ways to adapt existing classic formulations to meet new societal needs. She says that whether it’s ethnic medicine or traditional Chinese medicine, the classic formulations that have been tested and proven over thousands of years represent an invaluable medical resource—but today, they are gradually being marginalized, which represents a tremendous loss.
Lei Jufang stated that we need to devote considerable effort to catching up in areas such as classic prescriptions, authentic medicinal materials, and modern manufacturing techniques. Some time-tested traditional Chinese medicine formulas, if properly grounded in foundational research, can match—or even surpass—the efficacy of newly formulated prescriptions.
Reporting media: People's Daily Online
Report link: http://health.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0307/c398004-28179317.html