UK ban on TCM sales to hurt Chinese clinics   

英國藥管局新規嚴重沖擊中醫業 大批診所面臨倒閉

(ECNS) -- The UK is expected to issue a ban on the sale of Chinese patent drugs in 2014, a move that could push many Chinese clinics out of business.

The UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a notice on July 9, ordering major Chinese medicine stores in Britain to report their current traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) inventories, according to a China Business View report.

The medicine regulator also said it was planning to halt the sale of "Unlicensed Herbal Products",or Chinese patent drugs, in Britain next year.

The plan will have a huge impact on the traditional Chinese medicine community in Britain, according to Bo-ying Ma, president of the Federation of TCM, UK, on Monday.

The traditional Chinese medicine community in Britain has born the brunt of the global financial crisis that started in 2008. Chinese medicine has not been included in the UK.s medical insurance system, so British people whose incomes have fallen have been reluctant to buy Chinese medicines, said Ma.

"We hope the MHRA can offer a five-year transitional period to Chinese drug stores and clinics, so they can sell out their TCM inventories before the ban comes into force",said Ma.

Ma also said he had called on the leaders of the TCM community in the UK to jointly petition the MHRA to drop the plan.