TCM opportunity identified for Cambridge
Source：Business Weekly , May 12, 2005

A new Cambridge-China collaboration could hand the region’s biotech cluster a world lead in the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and trigger sharp advances in the war against infectious diseases．

If the strategy rolls out to plan， a whole new industry within Life Sciences could grow from Cambridge roots．

A payback is promised in areas such as drug development， therapeutics and instrumentation． Besides mutually beneficial collaborations， the alliance could also lead to the first wave of significant acquisitions by large Chinese TCM businesses of smaller Cambridge biotech companies looking to achieve critical mass．

Dr Elizabeth Hill of China Business Solutions Ltd in Cambridge says the mass of data accumulated by Chinese TCM specialists could slash more than five years off the drug discovery process， catapulting new products into Phase I trials and creating a more attractive proposition for potential Venture Capital investors． China Business Solutions has been hired by the Baiyunshan Pharmaceuticals Co． Ltd in Guangzhou to pilot an awareness programme and explode some of the myths that surround the field of TCM．

She said: “This isn’t witchcraft – a case of， ‘there’s some twigs in the garden， let’s brew them up’ – TCM products are blister-packed， herbal medicines developed from plants that are as legitimate as Lemsip， for example． “TCM could help us fight MRSA， viruses and a whole raft of infectious diseases． It is a form of medicine that the Chinese have used efficaciously for more than 4，000 years． Our work for Baiyunshan is a first step in this awareness programme． Their TCM companies have the data; now they need to validate what they have in terms of marketable products in the UK and elsewhere． “A lot of our biotech companies could help them reach those goals． Using the data， we could get some TCMs into Phase I trials and perhaps cut five years or more from the accepted drug development timescale． “In some cases， these collaborations would involve parking certain TCM technologies within UK biotech companies for that development process． We also believe that some Chinese specialists may soon be in a position to acquire businesses in the UK to use as vehicles for TCM development programmes． The R & D process would also create business for local instrumentation companies．”

The Chinese herbal encyclopaedia， written around 2700 BC records treatments of various diseases using TCM． The World Health Organisation believes herbal medicines serve the healthcare needs of around 80 per cent of the world’s population．

Dr Hill estimates that between 25 per cent and 60 per cent of drugs currently in use are developed from plants．

She says: “The most obvious example is aspirin， developed by isolating a chemical compound from White Willow bark． Other examples run from the mundane to the exotic． “Taxol， which is used to fight ovarian cancer and malignant melanoma， is processed from the Pacific Yew． Dioscorea， a type of yam， is the source for some contraceptives and progesterone creams． ? Digitalis， which is used in congestive heart failure patients to improve cardiac contractions， comes from Foxglove． “Considering that only about 5 per cent of the world’s plant species have been studied for their pharmacological potential， the potential is limitless．”

Dr Hill says that a wholly owned Baiyunshan Pharma subsidiary – Guangzhou Baiyunshan TCM Factory – has partnered with Hutchison Whampoa and now distributes some of its leading products through one of China`s main pharmacy retail outlets， Watsons， to the benefit of many millions of Chinese consumers． One of Baiyunshan`s lead products is its BYS? Ban Lan Gen granule， a popular over-the-counter medicine in the Chinese market to treat ‘flu symptoms and prevent seasonal febrile diseases， mumps， eruptive diseases， inflammatory diseases such as the redness of skin， sore throat， and other viruses．

During the SARS outbreak the product was widely used and proved to be effective in significantly reducing patients’ fever and in helping to prevent initial infection．

生命科学的最新进展：中药给英国剑桥带来了机遇 托尼·奎斯蒂　2005-5-12 商业周刊

一项崭新的剑桥与中国的合作将助于剑桥地区的生物工程产业跨入中药领域的世界领先行列，同时触发抗感染性疾病领域的巨大飞跃。 假设战略计划得以实现的话，生命科学中将有一个全新的产业从英国剑桥源起。 在药品研发、治疗学和器械方面会有很肯定的回报。 　　

来自剑桥中国咨询有限公司的伊丽莎白·高博士介绍说，中国的中药专家积累了大量的数据，这些数据可以缩短新药研发至少5年的时间，使其直接步入第一试验阶段，同时为潜在的风险投资者提供了更具吸引力的命题。 　　剑桥中国咨询有限公司正推行一项中药普及项目，揭示中药的奥妙。

高博士说：“这不是魔法，而是’花园里有一些嫩枝，让我们象泡茶一样泡泡它。’。中药从正统的植物中提取，正如LEMSIP(英国厂家生产的一种治疗感冒的OTC药)一样。 　“中药有助于抗击众多的感染性疾病，如耐药性金黄色葡萄球菌和病毒感染。中药经过了中国人历时4000多年的有效性验证。我们与白云山的合作是作为开展中药普及项目的第一步。白云山的中药企业有数据，现今需要用适销于英国和世界上其他地区的产品来验证这些数据。 　“许多英国的生物科技公司可以帮助他们实现这些目标。利用这些数据，我们可以将某些中药推入第一试验阶段，而且可能可以缩短公认的药品研发历时的5年甚至以上的时间。 　“某些情形下，这些合作可能会将某些中药生产技术引入英国的生物科技公司。我们相信一些中国专家不久会在英国开办企业，以此作为契机推进中药开发项目。这个项目亦给当地的器械企业创造了商机。” 　　写于公元前2700年的中国草药百科全书记载了用中药治疗各种疾病的方法。世界卫生组织（WHO）指出草药满足了约80%世界人口的卫生保健需求。 　　

高博士推测目前正在使用的25% -60%的现代药品是从植物中提取的。 她说：“最显著的例子是阿司匹林，它来源于白柳树皮中分离的化合物。其他例子囊括了普通甚至奇异的产品。 “治疗卵巢肿瘤和恶性黑色素瘤的药物Taxol是从太平洋紫杉提取而来。Dioscorea，一种山药，则是某些避孕药和孕酮软膏的原料。洋地黄，来源于植物毛地黄，可以增强充血性心力衰竭患者的心肌收缩力。 “鉴于目前只对世界上约5%的植物作了药理学研究，所以潜力是无穷尽的。”

高博士声称广州白云山中药厂，是广州白云山制药股份有限公司下属的子公司之一，最近与和记黄埔合作，通过中国主要零售药店之一的屈臣氏销售白云山的部分优质产品，使数百万的中国消费者受益。 广州白云山中药厂领先产品之一的板蓝根颗粒，是中国市场广受欢迎的OTC药物，用于治疗流感症状，预防季节性发热疾病、腮腺炎、出疹性疾病，感染性疾病比如皮肤红肿、咽喉痛和其它病毒性疾病。 在SARS爆发期间，该产品被广泛使用，而且被证明能够显著地退热和预防SARS感染。