Hong Kong Ox Bile Research Center Opens as First International Platform for TCM Innovation
SingTao · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago6 MIN
Summary
The Hong Kong Ox Bile Cooperation Research Center officially launched on Saturday (November 7) in Hong Kong, establishing China's first international joint research platform dedicated to systematic study of the ox bile (牛黃) industry chain. Jointly founded by Hong Kong Baishun Pharmaceutical and Hong Kong Baptist University, the center was inaugurated during the 2026 International Society for Natural Products Annual Meeting, with prominent figures from academia and industry attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony .
Key Points
- Professor Lyu Aiping (呂愛平), Vice President of Hong Kong Baptist University, and Shi Yuxin (石聿新), Chairman of Hong Kong Baishun Pharmaceutical, jointly presided over the opening ceremony
- The center addresses a critical industry bottleneck: natural ox bile production in China is less than 1 ton annually, far below the approximately 200-ton clinical and pharmaceutical demand
- The research platform is built upon Professor Cai Hongjiao's (蔡紅嬌) 30-plus years of research, culminating in the 1997 development of in vitro cultivated ox bile, approved as a Class 1 innovative Chinese medicine
- Professor Lyu Aiping will serve as Chief Scientist, leading cross-disciplinary teams combining transcriptomics, modern biochemistry, and molecular pharmacology
- The center will pursue three core research directions: scientific interpretation of ox bile's mechanisms, discovery of novel bioactive compounds, and development of internationally standardized health products
Why It Matters
The establishment of this research center represents a landmark integration of mainland China's indigenous TCM innovations with Hong Kong's international scientific and commercial infrastructure. By capitalizing on Hong Kong's strengths in cross-border pharmaceutical registration and global academic networking, the platform aims to accelerate the industrialization and global expansion of substitutes for rare and endangered Chinese medicinal materials . This initiative aligns with China's "Belt and Road" development plan for TCM and could serve as a model for deeper integration of domestic innovation with international markets.
The establishment of this research center represents a landmark integration of mainland China's indigenous TCM innovations with Hong Kong's international scientific and commercial infrastructure. By capitalizing on Hong Kong's strengths in cross-border pharmaceutical registration and global academic networking, the platform aims to accelerate the industrialization and global expansion of substitutes for rare and endangered Chinese medicinal materials . This initiative aligns with China's "Belt and Road" development plan for TCM and could serve as a model for deeper integration of domestic innovation with international markets.