On December 12, the first International Traditional Medicine Clinical Trial Registration (ITMCTR) Advisory Committee Conference was held in Beijing, with 16 international experts from 8 countries and regions participating via online and offline means. WHO’s technical official Rui Shan, and Deputy Director of National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (NATCM) Huang Luqi,,attended the conference together with more than 40 representatives from NATCM, CACMS, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, the Chinese Cochrane Center, and the Chinese TCM Cochrane Center.

The first advisory conference of was held in February this year, it aims at enhancing its academic influence in the world and promoting the high-quality development of the clinical research of traditional medicine in a global context.

Deputy Director of National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine Huang Luqi addressed the conference 

Party Secretary Wang Yanping announced the list of the first advisory committee members

At the opening ceremony of the conference on the morning of the Dec 12th, , Wang Yanping, Party Secretary and researcher of Institute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, CACMS, announced the list of the first advisory committee members. Academician Huang Luqi issued certificates to the chairperson of the first advisory committee, marking the official establishment of the ITMCTR expert think tank platform. The platform representative introduced the development of ITMCTR. Yang Hongjun, Researcher and Deputy President of CACMS, Shang Hongcai, Researcher and Executive Deputy President of Dongzhimen Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, and Dr. Goh Cheng Soon, Director of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Division, Ministry of Health of Malaysia, delivered speeches respectively on the academic support of CACMS, current development of traditional medicine at home and abroad and the level of clinical research.

Academician Huang Luqi issued the letter of appointment to the advisory expert Zhang Qi.

In the afternoon session, the committee members from home and abroad reviewed and revised the regulations of the committee, discussed on the contents of the review handbook of traditional medicine clinical trial and on the publicity mechanism of ITMCTR. Expert consensus has been reached for all items on the agenda, thereby pointing out the direction for the following work of ITMCTR.

Picture of the advisory committee

Chen Lei, Deputy President of West China Hospital, Sichuan University, addressed the conference

Yang Hongjun, Vice President of CACMS delivered a speech

Shang Hongcai, Executive Deputy President of Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, delivered a speech

Dr. Goh Cheng, Director of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Division, Ministry of Health of Malaysia, delivered a speech

With the Chinese Cochrane Center and the Institute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine as the supporting units, the core team will be dedicated to long-term research on the methodology of TCM clinical research and TCM standardization, which will be a vigorous push for the future standard operation and international development of ITMCTR.

At present, traditional medicine is playing an increasingly important role in the global health field. Taking TCM as an example, now spread to almost 200 countries and regions, it boasts annual increase of clinical trial registration and publication, and has received more attention for the quality of evidence. As a member of the international clinical trial registration platform of WHO, the establishment and operation of ITMCTR will mark a further control over the source management of the clinical trial design of traditional medicine, improving trial transparency and the quality of clinical evidence, and providing a channel for the standard and international development of the traditional medicine clinical research across the world.

(Source: Website of CACMS)