Remedy hopes brighten TCM's trade prospects

In the wake of novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, traditional Chinese medicine or TCM as an industry appears to have found added significance as more and more people look for immunity-boosting health supplements and safe and effective drugs for quick relief from various symptoms, experts said.

On Feb 6, the National Health Commission and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine jointly issued a notice recommending a Chinese herbal medicine soup as a potential remedy for relief from certain symptoms relating to the epidemic.

According to the notice, clinical observations of doctors from various places have proved that the formula is suitable for use in mild, moderate, and severe infections.

NATCM data showed the Chinese herbal medicine soup was adopted in the treatment of 214 confirmed cases of COVID-19 from four pilot provincial regions. Over three days, the soup was used as a course of treatment. The total effective rate reached over 90 percent, among which 60 percent of the patients found obvious relief from symptoms, and the rest 30 percent demonstrated stable symptoms without exacerbation.

Zhang Boli, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said the fact that the TCM was able to have a positive effect throughout the treatment period has placed it in a good position in fighting the virus.

He noted that many hospitals in Hubei, the most affected province, are integrating TCM with Western medicine to treat coronavirus patients.

"As there is no confirmed cure or vaccine yet, it is reasonable to treat patients with a mix of TCM and Western medicine. They each have their own strengths and emphasis, and combined treatment gets synergistic results," Zhang said.

Jiang Jian, chief of the medical administration and supervision department of the NATCM, said that by Feb 17, TCM had been applied in the treatment of 60,107 confirmed cases across the nation, taking up 85.2 percent of the total. The effective ratio of TCM treatment in those cases outside Hubei reached 87 percent.

Chen Qiaoshan, a medical analyst at Beijing-based market consultancy Analysys, said that in the short run, TCM companies that offer products related to the treatment of COVID-19 will see sales growth.

In the long run, however, only TCM companies that prove instrumental in treating COVID-19 will likely rally.

"With the introduction of more favorable policies, the TCM sector may find more development opportunities," Chen said.

Data from industry information network Chyxx showed that in 2019, China's TCM industry sales were estimated to have reached 537.6 billion yuan ($76.9 billion). The market is projected to reach 580.6 billion yuan by this year-end. Its annual compound growth rate of 8.2 percent is higher than that of GDP growth rate.

Chyxx report also said that TCM sales this year will take up 32.4 percent of the whole drug sales, and maintain a stable growth.