Traditional Chinese Medicine and Big Health Industry
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 April 2025, a total of 233 enterprises were registered in the Industrial Park (including 89 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.
- At present, the Industrial Park has established a testing and production platform for traditional Chinese medicines, which complies with the “Good Medicine Manufacturing Practices” (GMP) standards of Mainland China.
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Actively use the approach of “introducing medicines through treatments” to assist traditional Chinese medicine products in entering Portuguese-speaking Countries and gradually expanding into regional markets such as Africa, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
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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.
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Since 2021, the Economic and Technological Development Bureau has launched a series of schemes to support the upgrading and transformation of the traditional Chinese medicine manufacturing industry, such as the “Subsidy Scheme for Encouraging Enterprise Upgrading and Development”, the “Pilot Funding Scheme for Promoting the Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry” and the “Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry Modernisation Scheme”. Such efforts not only improve product quality and production process standards, but also enhance the products’ market competitiveness.
- 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.