The Government welcomed an announcement by the Mainland on the arrangement of streamlining the approval procedures for Hong Kong registered traditional proprietary Chinese medicines (pCms) for external use to be registered and sold in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The Guangdong Provincial Medical Products Administration today promulgated a notice regarding the streamlining of the approval procedures.

The holder of any traditional pCm for external use that has been registered with the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong and in use in the city for more than five years may apply for registration with the Guangdong Provincial Medical Products Administration through the streamlined procedures. Such pCms, upon successful approval, may be sold in the bay area.

Prior to the new arrangement, the Mainland and Hong Kong have had in place different registration regimes for the regulation of Chinese medicine products and applicants are required to make registration applications according to the respective requirements in the two places before the pCms may be sold in a place upon successful registration.

Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government welcomes the implementation of the measure and expressed gratitude to the relevant authorities of the central government and Guangdong Province for their staunch support for the development of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong.

The new arrangement enables Hong Kong pCm manufacturers to expand their markets, as well as creates favourable conditions for Hong Kong pCm to go global in the long run, Prof Chan noted, adding the Hong Kong SAR Government will actively promote the relevant measure to the trade.