Traditional Chinese Medicine and Big Health Industry

As early as in 1999, the Macao SAR Government included traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)TCM in the public healthcare system, thereby enlarging the coverage of TCM throughout the public healthcare services.
The “State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine” was established in Macao in 2011, with the aim of developing research on TCM quality and innovation, promoting the standardisation and internationalisation of TCM, and promoting the transformation of results.
The Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park of Co-operation between Guangdong and Macao (hereinafter referred to as “Industrial Park”) actively introduces and cultivates key enterprises and keeps gathering TCM industries therein. As of the end of August 2024, a total of 237 enterprises were registered in the Industrial Park (including 83 Macao enterprises), with a number of well-known pharmaceutical enterprises from the Mainland being introduced into the Industrial Park. In the meantime, a certain number of Macao enterprises have been cultivated. These companies mainly engage in TCM, cosmetic products, health supplements, medical equipment, biomedicine and medical services.. Various industries are now gathering in the Industrial Park.
At present, the Industrial Park has established a pilot testing and production platform for traditional Chinese medicines that complies with the Good Medicine Manufacturing Practices (GMP) standards of Mainland China and the European Union.
The Industrial Park continues to promote the internationalisation of TCM through the “introduction of medicine with medical treatment” model and give play to the role of Macao as China-PSCs Platform. Supported by the National Traditional Chinese Medicine Services Export Bases, the Industrial Park has been involved in the international registration and trade of TCM products with PSCs as a gateway, and has helped a number of enterprises to obtain registration approval for Chinese patent medicine products in Mozambique, Brazil and other regions.
At the same time, with the support of the Guangdong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Preparation Centre for Medical Institutions, the Industrial Park is seeking to create a brand for hospital preparations from Macao and Mainland China.
The Economic and Technological Development Bureaushall, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, properly carry out industrial licensing for the manufacture of big health and TCM products, arrange cross-departmental work meetings for relevant enterprises, streamline the approval procedure and provide enterprises with more convenient and efficient services, in order to help enterprises reduce the costs, thereby speeding up the development of production businesses.
In December 2021, with the promotion of the Macao SAR Government, the Macau Institute for Translational Medicine and Innovation was established to foster technological innovation and the integration of human resources in the fields of TCM and the area of translational medicine in Macao and Mainland China, empowering technical transformation and industry development in Macao and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The implementation of the Law on Pharmaceutical Activities in the Field of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Registration of Traditional Chinese Medicines, the establishment of the Pharmaceutical Administration Bureau, the platform role played by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Traditional Medicine (Macao), and the continuous development of scientific research institutions and platforms, such as the State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, medical research centres in Macao higher education institutions, and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park of Co-operation between Guangdong and Macao, have laid a solid foundation for the research and transformation of TCM products, as well as the transformation of results in the biomedical field.