The 11th meeting of the International Advisory Board (IAB) on Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards (HKCMMS) was held in Hong Kong from February 18 to February 20 and was attended by over 70 overseas, Mainland and local experts. At the meeting, the IAB reviewed the research work of the current phase for 31 Chinese Materia Medica (CMM) and concluded a pilot study on eight Chinese medicine decoction pieces. The future research direction of the HKCMMS project was also discussed.
 
     Addressing the meeting, the Director of Health, Dr Constance Chan, said, "With the publication of the ninth volume of the HKCMMS, we have already published a total of 299 CMM reference standards, which are well recognised in the field of Chinese medicine testing and certification. While we continue to further our work on the standard setting for CMM, we will introduce advance testing methods to improve the quality control of CMM and strive to be on par with international standards."
 
     The IAB was established in early 2002 to give advice on the principles, methodologies and analytical methods for the development of the HKCMMS. It comprises renowned experts from the Mainland, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Japan, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States, in addition to local experts.
 
     Dr Chan said the project of setting standards for CMM relies heavily on the participation of the scientific community, and the Government is most grateful to the eight research partners, namely the City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the University of Hong Kong, the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control of the People's Republic of China and Taiwan's China Medical University, for rallying behind the project and making efforts to meet various challenges in setting standards. In addition, the Government Laboratory is continuing to conduct inter-laboratory verification studies, which adds to the project's scientific rigour and robustness.
 
     "We are also indebted to the National Medical Products Administration, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission for their invaluable advice and continuous support for the development of the HKCMMS," Dr Chan added.
 
     Previous publications of the HKCMMS can be accessed at www.cmd.gov.hk/html/eng/GCMTI/hkcmms/volumes.html.

Ends/Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Issued at HKT 17:00

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