New prescriptions in the works for TCM

The United States Pharmacopeial Convention, a scientific nonprofit organization that sets standards for medicines and food ingredients, is looking to team up with Chinese organizations for establishing standards for traditional Chinese medicine.

"In recent years, China has been positively promoting the international development of TCM. We have worked with some Chinese organizations to develop the standards for more than 10 kinds of traditional Chinese medicines," said John Hu, senior vice-president and general manager of USP-China.

USP's drug standards are enforced in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration. Its Chinese office, USP China, was set up in 2007 to study the standards for traditional Chinese medicine. The USP standards, such as those for Chinese salvia, a herb used in TCM, will enable it to be sold in the US market as medicine, rather than health product.