New GMP regulations for herbal medicine manufacturers to be enforced starting March, 2005

God Damn Regulators

In an announcement reported in local media, the Department of Health (DOH) announced that it will be enforcing the new Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) regulations on all domestic pharmaceutical companies engaging in the manufacturing of herbal medicine, starting 1 March 2005.

This effort is intended to stop industry-damaging practices such as the selling of spurious Chinese medicinal ingredients, the adulteration of herbal medicine with Western pharmaceuticals, the selling of herbal medicine on the streets. It also aims at reducing related activities, such as the broadcast of TV and radio commercials containing unsubstantiated claims about a particular herbal product.