Events

The GA will start the new year with two exciting eSeminars. One will be on the increasing global importance of TCM focusing on what is happening in Europe. Chinese medicine is popular and controversial at the same time with a wide range of challenges identified. This eSeminar provides insights with presentations by leading experts Prof. Rudi Bauer (Graz) Dr Mei Wang (Leiden) and Dr Tony Booker (London).

In the last decades Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has become a healthcare practice. Today TCM is used widely outside of its Eastern Asian region and in many countries, it is now practiced both in Chinese ‘diaspora’ communities and beyond. In the late-20th century in Europe, the use of Chinese herbal medicines became an element of alternative practice, in part driven by the growing Chinese immigration and a rising interest in holistic and complementary medicine in several European countries. Contrary to Eastern Asian countries where it is an integrative part of healthcare, in Europe it is an alternative practice. In this eSeminar, speakers will assess these developments with an emphasis on:

• Defining regulatory-binding quality standards for medically used TCM materials with a strong focus on the inclusion of monographs on botanical drugs from China into the European pharmacopoeia (Rudi Bauer),
• Developing the basis for introducing TCM-based preparations using the European traditional herbal medicines regulation (Mei Wang), but also on
• Assessing the safety and quality of the numerous herbal products on the markets (Anthony Booker)

Today the sector and the industry face growing challenges, including unstable supply chains, quality concerns regarding herbal products, and a need for evidence-based research development, etc. Consequently, this eSeminar offers an opportunity to increase awareness, to reflect and to evaluate what is needed for an evidence- and research-based sustainable development in TCM in the coming years. This eSeminar is a joint effort of the GP-TCM RA and the GA. We hope it will kick start a series of seminars not only on the opportunities and challenges with regards to TCM, but also the many other important medical traditions now used globally, including Indian, Japanese, Korean and other Asian ones.

Chairs:

• Clara Lau, President of GP-TCM RA (Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy & School of Chinese Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China)
• Michael Heinrich, President of GA (UCL School of Pharmacy, London, UK)

Presentations [Speakers]:

• TCM-drugs in the European Pharmacopeia: Where do we go from here and what can they be used for? [Rudolf Bauer (Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Graz, Austria)]
• TCM in Europe and the Traditional Herbal Registrations (THRs): commercial development and uses [Mei Wang (Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands)]
• Adverse reactions to Chinese herbs: causes, prevention and action [Anthony Booker, (University of Westminster / UCL School of Pharmacy, London, UK)]