Chinese in Medical sector of Pakistan

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HSA All Set To Join China-Pakistan Health Corridor Initiative

September 22, 2021
Kaleem Naqvi
China-Pakistan Health Corridor

A Memorandum of Understanding to this effect will be signed between the Chairman of the China-Pakistan Health Corridor Dr. Lee and Vice Chancellor of HSA Prof. Shahzad Ali Khan.

The Health Services Academy (HSA) will join the China-Pakistan Health Corridor Initiative by signing multiple collaborative agreements with its Chinese counterpart organizations that will be represented at the 11th Annual Public Health Conference of the Academy scheduled on September 23-24.

A Memorandum of Understanding to this effect will be signed between the Chairman of the China-Pakistan Health Corridor Dr. Lee and Vice Chancellor of HSA Prof. Shahzad Ali Khan.
In another historic development, the Department of Public Health of Wuhan University will sign an MoU for multiple cooperation in academic partnership between China and Pakistan in the field of public health. Ky component of this collaboration will include digital health, medical technology, traditional medicine, and joint health research projects.

Through yet another agreement, the WHO Traditional Medicine Foundation of China will seek collaboration with HSA in the field of Traditional and Alternative Medicine (TAM) in Pakistan. Digital Human will sign an MoU with HSA for the establishment of the Digital Human Project and Digital Medicine Lab at HSA.

With its headquarter in Jinan, the China-Pakistan Health Corridor initiative is a multidisciplinary interconnected group of centers consisting of medical universities, hospitals, traditional medicine academies, and research and training centres in countries along the Belt and Road linked together by telemedicine, artificial intelligence, VR/AR, and big data.

The China-Pakistan Health Corridor has several cooperations established between Chinese and Pakistani universities, hospitals, and medical institutes. Cooperation with China Medical University, Fuwai Hospital, Weifang People’s Hospital, The Lancet, Mayo International Clinic, Xian Jiaotong University, Sino-Pak Joint Research Lab, and Qingdao Binhai University are particularly worth mentioning.

 

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SAPM... Dr. Faisal appreciates China, Pakistan collaboration on locally-produced vaccines

December 27, 2021




Dr. Faisal Sultan, SAPM Imran Khan on Health, has said that the locally-produced vaccines with the help of China have garnered a good response locally and China has always supported Pakistan in the hour of need. During March this year, Pakistan signed a deal with Chinese company, CansinoBio to import a concentrate of the vaccine in bulk to process and package the vaccine locally. The SAPM informed that the local manufacturing of the China-based vaccine will continue to meet the demand of the country.


Pakistan-manufactured Covid vaccines, produced with China’s help, are getting a great response at the vaccination centers, officials said on Saturday evening.

Pakistan had signed a deal with Chinese company CansinoBio in late March to import a concentrate of the vaccine in bulk to process and package the vaccine locally.

Later, Pakistan started producing the single-dose Chinese CanSinoBio, COVID-19 vaccine to be able to deliver 3 million doses a month with the new name PakVac.

A National Institute of Health (NIH) spokesperson informed that millions of doses had been sent to the vaccination centers since the inauguration of the production plant in Islamabad.

Dr. Faisal Sultan, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Imran Khan on Health, told Gwadar Pro that the Chinese vaccines were highly effective and appreciated in Pakistan.

“The locally produced vaccines with the help of China got a great response. China has stood by us in this hour of need,” he maintained, citing the Covid pandemic.

Sultan mentioned that China had supported Pakistan more than any other countries to control the Covid pandemic.

The SAPM informed that the local manufacturing of the China-based vaccine will continue to meet the demand of the country.

NIH Executive Director Professor Aamer Ikram said the co-production along with CanSino in Pakistan was a great effort by both sides.

Ikram elaborated that the Chinese firm was supplying a vaccine concentrate which the “plant then formulates, processes and packages.”

CanSinBio had transferred some of its production technology to Pakistan and was supervising operations, he remarked.

Quality control, he added, was being carried out by Pakistan. “We have acquired technology and expertise to ensure quality control,” he underscored.

According to NIH, PakVac is saving around 25% on vaccine costs. Pakistan, which has a population of 220 million people, faced initial vaccination hesitancy and a shortage of vaccine supplies but later started mass vaccination for all adults.

Pakistan heavily relied on All-Weather-Friend China in vaccine procurement and of the six vaccines approved for use in Pakistan, three – Sinopharm, SinoVac and CanSinoBio – are from China.

In an earlier statement, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong said: “Our cooperation (co-production of vaccines) not only effectively contributes to Pakistan’s efforts in fighting the Covid-19 but reduces its (Pakistan’s) dependence on vaccine import.”

 

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China’s Hangeng Group receives the first container at Gwadar port​

August 27, 2022

China’s Hangeng Agricultural Group, which is building an agricultural industrial park in Gwadar, received the first container of raw medicines from Africa, a senior official told Gwadar Pro on Thursday.

“We will process the medicines in our facility in Gwadar for onwards shipment to China”, the official said. “We are basically a supply chain management company and aim to process pharmaceutical and agricultural goods in our Gwadar facility for onward export to China”, the official further stated. “Presently, we are in the construction stage at Gwadar Free Zone.” he said.

Hangeng Agricultural Group aims to industrialise agriculture and animal husbandry in Pakistan. The group is also looking for procurement of agriculture goods and livestock from other parts of Pakistan for processing in their Gwadar facility and exporting to China.

The Group is expected to create multiple employment opportunities for Pakistani youth in Gwadar and the rest of the country.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif performed ground-breaking of the Hangeng Agricultural Industrial Park in Gwadar during his visit to the port city in June.

The arrival of the first container of raw medicines will open a new chapter in Pakistan’s pharmaceutical processing sector and Pakistan’s exports to China.

 

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On 30th September, the construction of Layyah hospital Grey Structure completed, following the copping of building on 24th September.

Construction of 200-bed special hospital for Women & Children in Layyah and Attock districts of Punjab with Chinese assistance. The basic infrastructure of the hospital building was prepared.

 

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Pak-China traditional medicines sector possesses broad prospects for cooperation: Chinese Expert​

October 17, 2022



ISLAMABAD – Traditional medicine in China and Pakistan has a broad space of bilateral collaboration in research and development, management and production that would lay a strong foundation of future research. “Collaboration between Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Unani Tibb (traditional medicine in Pakistan) can set the future research for health,” Prof. Liu Xinmin, Member, Expert Advisory Panel on Traditional Medicine, World Health Organization (WHO) and Co-Director of Sino-Pakistan Cooperation Center on TCM (SPCCTCM) told Gwadar Pro on Sunday. Prof. Xinmin said,

“This is China’s first proprietary Chinese medicine to complete clinical trials guided by drug registration abroad, and it is also the first proprietary Chinese medicine to be verified by foreign scientists on the basis of international evidence-based medicine abroad.” Prof. Xinmin said that the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi is internationally influential in the field of natural product chemistry.

This is the recognition of traditional Chinese medicine in Pakistan and it is also a major booster to promote cooperation in traditional medicine between China and Pakistan.

Pakistani herbal medicines have rich resources in the treatment of respiratory and skin diseases and the products are exported to Central Asia and other countries. Pakistanis are accustomed to taking herbal medicines and are highly receptive to TCM. “In recent years, the industrial scale and research & development level of TCM have been significantly improved. China’s management experience of high-quality herbal medicine resources can be shared with Pakistan.

Pakistan is very active in international and exchange platforms, and Pakistan and China can jointly increase the popularity and influence of traditional medicine in the world,” Prof. Liu suggested. After thousands of years of development, TCM has developed numerous effective treatments for plague. TCM has sustained efficacy in the face of complex and variable viruses, and it is well-suited to cope with the ever-changing COVID-19 virus.

 

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Pakistan to benefit from collaboration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

 

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China-Pakistan AI medical diagnosis lab commences operations, paving way for revolutionary healthcare solutions​

March 10, 2023



The Akbar Niazi Teaching Hospital in Islamabad has launched a collaborative AI medical diagnosis lab between China and Pakistan, which aims to offer free cervical cancer screening to 10,000 women in its initial phase.

A China-Pakistan joint Artificial Intelligence medical diagnosis lab has started working in the Akbar Niazi Teaching Hospital, Islamabad and it will provide free cervical cancer screening to 10,000 Pakistani women in its first phase of operation.

“It can also be used in the early diagnosis of other high-incidence of clinical tumors, such as breast cancer, gastric cancer, oral cancer, etc.,” said the project lead from Landing Med, a Chinese medical technology company that provided three cervical cancer screening devices along with 5,000 sets of supporting consumable items to Pakistan last December for the lab construction.

 

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China-Pakistan strengthen relations through traditional Chinese medicine cooperation​

March 26, 2023



ISLAMABAD: China and Pakistan are strengthening their bilateral relations through cooperation in the field of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The health authorities of Sindh have initiated a program in which China will assist the country in training young doctors proficient in TCM.

The Sino-Pakistan Cooperation Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine (SPCCTCM) in the southern Hunan province of China will train the first batch of ten young doctors in TCM theory and clinical practice. Upon completion of their training, they will return to their hometowns in Pakistan to carry out TCM diagnosis and treatment.

The SPCCTCM, jointly established by the Hunan University of Medicine and the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences of the University of Karachi in Pakistan in 2020, aims to build an international cooperation centre integrating healthcare, TCM education and training, scientific research, and industrial cooperation.

This training project, with support from both the Chinese and Pakistani governments, will unite TCM colleges and hospitals to train talents with a certain level of TCM theory and clinical practice skills for Pakistan.

The cooperation between China and Pakistan in TCM is not only an academic exchange but also a cultural exchange, which will help further enhance the friendship between the two countries. Recently, an event was held in Islamabad to mark the return of Pakistani plant seeds from the Chinese space station.

Chinese and Pakistani researchers at the SPCCTCM will use these seeds to carry out breeding research and study the differences between planting on Earth and in space.

The acceptance of TCM in Pakistan has been increasing in recent years. Last year, a proprietary Chinese medicine, Jinhua Qinggan Granule, had a significant effect on treating Covid-19 patients in Pakistan. The Chinese side is also in communication with the Pakistani side to promote the registration process of another Chinese medicine in Pakistan.

The aim is to promote the entry of TCM into Pakistan and other countries along the Belt and Road (BRI) so that Chinese medicine can serve more people in the world.

 

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Dr. Muhammad Shahbaz, President of China-Pakistan Medical Association, along with Vice President Prof. Zhang Xianbin, led a delegation to the Affiliated Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Guangzhou Medical University on Tuesday. Their aim was to explore the potential for hospital partnerships between China and Pakistan.

The team from the China-Pakistan Medical Association visited the hospital’s various departments after the meeting, including the acupuncture training base and the rehabilitation clinic.

 

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Chinese scientists, industrialists to visit Pakistan on Apr 27​

April 16, 2023

ISLAMABAD, Apr 15 (APP):A high-level delegation of Chinese scientists and industrialists will visit Pakistan to strengthen cooperation in traditional medicine and related biomedical sciences among the member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

According to COMSTECH, the delegation of Chinese scientists and industrialists will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote cooperation in research and development in the fields of natural products, biotechnology, molecular and cell biology, and traditional medicine through institutional and industrial linkages.

The ceremony will be held at COMSTECH Secretariat Islamabad on April 27.

The signing of the MoU will help strengthen academic and research initiatives between the People’s Republic of China and OIC member countries.

On the occasion of the signing ceremony, there will also be a keynote discussion on the subject by scientists and representatives of pharmaceutical industries in China.

 

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The pharmaceutical company cold storage machinery and equipment reached Gwadar Port​

By Fatima Javed | Gwadar Pro
Jun 8, 2023

GWADAR, Jun.8, (Gwadar Pro)- 31 shipping containers carrying construction materials for the cold storage of pharmaceutical raw materials arrived directly from China to Gwadar Free Zone on Tuesday, Hangeng Trading Company .

The company’s CEO, Andy Liao, said, "The material will be used for the construction of cold storage units at Hangeng Agriculture Park."

31 Containers arrived on Gwadar port, 6th June,2023

"This is our second shipment this year importing goods from China, the first shipment carrying steel structure material arrived in early January 2023 and the third batch of goods is coming next week," he said.

In May, the installation of the steel structure workshop at HanGeng Agricultural Industrial Park was completed, while the equipment installation started in June of this month.

The company confirmed that 95% of factory work is almost complete, while the rest of the construction, including cold storage and machinery deployment, remains. The factory is expected to be ready by August 2023."

Liao was thankful to the Pakistani government for its support. “Our establishment of an agricultural industrial park is also in line with Pakistan's national conditions.” he stated.

He was hopeful that the development of Gwadar will make the region more stable, improve people's livelihoods in Pakistan, and make the economy prosperous.

The cold storage material will be used for the storage of pharmaceutical material for export

According to the company’s trading manager, Abdul Razzaq, "The pharmaceutical company has hired 15-20 official staff and 90–100 factory workers. The company's policy is to employ only the local people of Gwadar. The employment number will reach 300 direct and 1000 indirect jobs once the factory starts manufacturing."

 

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Unani and TCM to provide more medical options​

Staff Reporter
Jun 9, 2023

"We should provide alternate ways of treatment to our people so that they can get better health facilities. Cooperating with China can help us achieve that,"said Syed Shabib ul Hasan, vice chancellor of Hamdard University, the oldest and largest traditional medicine college in Pakistan.

During COVID-19, Pakistani traditional medicine, Unani medicine, played a part in Pakistan and traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) also played a great role in China along with allopathy. "We have signed MOUs with Chinese universities to promote traditional medicine, including identification and cultivation of herbal medicine and mutual recognition of quality standards." Syed Shabib ul Hasan noted.

This year, more TCM training programs are provided to Pakistani students. The acceptance of TCM in Pakistan has also been increasing these years. "Chinese government has invested and provided opportunities to train Pakistani students in TCM.

However, we are not giving such importance to our traditional medicines." Syed Shabib ul Hasan stressed that Unani medicine should be promoted in the same way that TCM has been promoted. "We can develop medicines on the basis of our herbal plants, and China can help." He added.

"WHO has calculated that more than 42% of drugs available in the market are derived from plants or natural products.

There is richness of herbs in Pakistan, we have advantages in topography." Ahsana Dar Farooq, Dean of Eastern Medicine of Hamdard University suggested doing joint research projects about how Unani practitioners and TCM practitioners diagnose a disease to see what is common and what is different between the two systems.

"There are many similarities between TCM and Unani medicine. For example, we both focus on balancing and holistic, which means considering the whole body, while allopathic medicine focuses on a single symptom. I think the m
ain difference is the ingredients. TCM has some ingredients that are not in our area."

"The effect of their collaboration is that more Unani herbs will be used in China, more Chinese herbs will be used here," said Hakeem Abdul Bari, head of Research and Development in Hamdard Laboratories of Pakistan.

He told us that a number of Chinese herbs have already been commonly used in Paksitan. "Herbs whose names include Chini or Khatai are mostly from China, such as Revand Chini, Jazwar Chini, Revand Khatai. Cinnamon also comes from China, which we call Dar Chini. There are also many herbs going to China from us, such as fennel."

Pakistani herbal medicines have rich resources in the treatment of respiratory and skin diseases, and the products are exported to Central Asia and other countries. "Our lab is collaborating with Chinese institutions that also order from us. There are at least 15 to 20 types of herbs exported to China from here." He added.

 

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Chinese experience will upgrade Pakistan's herbal medicine industry​

Staff Reporter
Jun 14, 2023

More herbs can be cultivated in Islamabad (Gwadar Province) Pakistan. Hakeem Abdul Bari, Head of Research and Development at Pakistan's Hamdard Laboratories, said that Pakistan has the potential to play an important role in the export of herbs to the world.

The development of herbal medicine industry can not only increase the quality of medical care of the country but also contribute to the economy.
In recent years, many towns and villages in China have encouraged and guided local people to cultivate herbal medicine, which has increased their income and enriched them. Changshan Village in Anhui, China is a good example.

Our herb planting demonstration area was replaced by a barren slope. Currently 33 hectares of herbs have been planted in our village. "Our land was barren and drought-prone, not suitable for growing traditional cash crops," said Changshan village secretary Wang Shimao. So we encouraged farmers to use barren slopes and forest land for planting herbs.

More than 300 people are currently engaged in herbal medicine cultivation in the area, and the village has established a rural cooperative to help promote the local herbal medicine industry.

Pakistan can produce the best herbs in the world. However, the herbs we use are not only produced locally but also imported from all over the world. Hakeem noted that Pakistan's herbal medicine industry could benefit greatly from its seasonal variations. An example is the olive, which is said to be unable to grow anywhere except in the Mediterranean region.

However, at least 70 thousand acres of land in Pakistan are used for olive cultivation. There is also sandalwood or teakwood, which is said to grow only in temperate regions. Today, their cultivation has started in Pakistan and soon it will be on an industrial scale.

Hakeem's view is echoed by Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association Chairman Syed Farooq Bukhari. There is a German company which I don't want to name which used to buy raw herbs from Pakistan. They cashed in on the herb, and by commercializing it, that company is now worth about a billion euros. Syed encouraged people to create awareness for commercialization of indigenous herbs.

There are many herbs which are not observed in Pakistan. It is a treasure that can solve many health problems. There is a lot of potential in this industry, and by developing it, our agriculture portfolio can also expand.

In this regard, there are examples we can cite, including India, China and Iran, Hakim added. They are protecting their herbs by expanding their cultivation and exporting and at the same time, they started getting geographical indications to protect their indigenous herbs, known as GI codes.

Space-bred varieties have proven to be better performers in terms of yield and resistance. Last year, seven types of Pakistani herbal seeds from the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi and Hamdard University were first-ever China-Pakistan 'Seeds in Space' by China's Shenzhou 14 spacecraft. were sent into space under the project
Seeds sent into space were also stored here.

The goal is to see if there is any change in these seeds. This change can occur at the genetic level. The research conducted on wheat increased the yield by 11 percent,” said Dr. Ehsana Dar Farooq, Dean of Eastern Medicine at Hamdard University, adding that the herb seeds came to us on March 10, 2023, and now they are growing in the field.

The University and ICCBS are in collaboration in the program and keep each other updated.

 

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Searle partners with China’s Mabwell to sell Denosumab Biosimilars drugs in Pakistan​

BR
July 12, 2023

Searle Company Limited (Searle) has entered into a license agreement with China’s Mabwell Pharmaceuticals, under which Searle will manufacture, register, and market the Denosumab Biosimilars drugs in Pakistan.

Searle, which is principally engaged in the manufacture of pharmaceutical and other consumer products, shared the development in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday.

“Mabwell is pleased to partner with Searle Co Ltd to commercialize and localize Denosumab biosimilars in Pakistan,” said Dr Datao Liu, Co-founder, Chairman of the Board, and CEO of Mabwell in a statement.

Liu said Pakistan is an important country in China’s Belt and Road Initiative with a large market and ‘great demand’. “This partnership will benefit the patients in Pakistan by providing high quality affordable biological medicines,” he added.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Syed Nadeem Ahmed, Group Managing Director and CEO of Searle Company Limited.

“Partnership with Mabwell is an integral part of our strategy to develop further our biotechnology business in Pakistan,” said Nadeem Ahmed.

“The goal of this project is not only to bring Mabwell products to Pakistan, but also to establish cooperation with such an innovative company as Mabwell.

“This cooperation also represents an important milestone for Searle Co Ltd., and for our patients in Pakistan that will ensure the social benefit from an increased access to high-quality affordable medicines” he added.

Searle is one of the top pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan having eight state-of-the art manufacturing facilities and global presence in 18 countries.

 

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China-Pakistan cooperation in nutrition and, health

By Staff Reporter | China Economic Net
Jul 17, 2023

China-Pakistan cooperation in nutrition, health highlighted

BEIJING, - “In the future, we will strengthen cooperation with International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences in carrying out joint research on key technologies, application of international cooperation projects, training of international TCM talents, academic exchanges and other aspects to promote scientific and technological innovation in the field of nutrition and health,” noted Prof Wang Fengzhong, director of Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), while addressing the 2023 China-Pakistan Nutrition and Health Center Cooperation Forum held in Beijing on July 14.

On the occasion, Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary, director of International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), Pakistan, was invited to be a visiting professor in IFST-CAAS by Prof Wang Fengzhong.

Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries that experience many floods and droughts as a result of climate change, which poses a threat to food preservation. Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho, Minister for Health & Population Welfare, Sindh was impressed by how IFST’s technology helps extend the shelf life of food while retaining its flavor and nutrition, especially those made for women and children. Following her proposal, both sites agreed to deepen cooperation in technology transfer from China to Pakistan in packaging, processing, and so on.

As per experts on site, China and Pakistan both have a long history of traditional medicine and rich resources in herbal products. The long-term technical cooperation between China and Pakistan in this field is of great significance for safeguarding the lives and health of the people of the two countries.

Back on 9th June, 2021, IFST and ICCBS established the China-Pakistan Traditional Chinese Medicine Center and signed a memorandum of cooperation. Over the years, both sides have established a long-term friendly cooperative relationship in talent cultivation, academic exchanges, and other aspects. On December 22, 2021, IFST and ICCBS jointly held the "2021 China-Pakistan Food and Drug Resources Research and Application Conference", at which the "China-Pakistan Nutrition and Health Research Center" was unveiled.