In case you’re not a regular reader the China People’s Daily, here’s an important story with potentially significant implications for DSHEA. Tongjitang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. of southwest China’s Guizhou Province signed a contract with Synarc, a US professional drug test service provider, in Beijing on Tuesday. Synarc will carry out clinical curative effect test on a traditional Chinese medicine to treat osteoporosis. It is for the first time a Chinese herbal medicine to be tested in line with western clinical curative effect standards, Qi Guomin, official of Ministry of Health, told Xinhua on Wednesday. Some of the Chinese traditional medicines have passed the FDA’s safety test and been sold as “health food” in western countries, Qi said. The test will be carried out in China under FDA’s criteria and the result will be released in 2006. Note to Congress: When contemplating FDA reform don’t forget the urgent need to reform DSHEA — it’s more than just a stadium in Queens.
Beijing Supplemental
Center for Medicine in the Public Interest is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization promoting innovative solutions that advance medical progress, reduce health disparities, extend life and make health care more affordable, preventive and patient-centered. CMPI also provides the public, policymakers and the media a reliable source of independent scientific analysis on issues ranging from personalized medicine, food and drug safety, health care reform and comparative effectiveness.
