Yiling Pharmaceutical to Increase Productivity of Lianhua Qingwen

Yiling Pharmaceutical (002603.SZ) announced to launch the productivity-improving project of Lianhua Qingwen, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) used mainly for the treatment of colds and viral influenza. The Company is set to produce 7.5 billion capsules, 99 million sachets of granules and 2.1 billion pills per year to meet the rising demand for the treatment as it is used to alleviate the symptoms of COVID-19.

"Global medical communities are starting to tap into TCM to boost the recovery rate of COVID-19 patients. We are glad the world is recognizing TCM and the pivotal role of Lianhua Qingwen in combating the pandemic," said Xiangjun Wu, GM of Yiling Pharmaceutical. "To meet rising demand, we are ramping up our production capacity to ensure adequate and uninterrupted supply of our medicine to patients globally."

During an online conference with global frontline medical workers fighting against COVID-19, Zhong Nanshan, a Chinese respiratory expert and head of the health commission team investigating the outbreak of the disease in China, noted that the recovery rate of patients administered with Lianhua Qingwen was up to 91.5%.

The State Drug Administration of China recently approved the supplemental drug application for new indications of Lianhua Qingwen, adding "functional indications" to the previously approved indication: "For mild/common types of fever, cough and fatigue in the conventional treatment of novel coronavirus pneumonia."

Nations including Brazil, Indonesia, Canada, Mozambique and Romania have granted marketing authorization to Lianhua Qingwen and registered it as herbal medicine or natural health product. In addition, the medication has been approved to enter Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of influenza in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration(FDA).

"Although many counties appreciate Lianhua Qingwen as a powerful medicinal solution to tackling the pandemic, it still has a long way to go. Moving forward, Yiling Pharmaceutical will work with more medical institutions and hospitals to conduct clinical testing for our TCM, helping integrate TCM into modern medicinal practice," Wu said.

"To facilitate the adoption of TCM, we have established the "Collateral Disease Branch" of the World Federation for Traditional Chinese Medicine Societies in North America and Europe. The new centre will provide medical practitioners around the world with access to the fundamental theories and properties of TCM as well as its cultural and philosophical concepts," Wu added.