Chinese traditional medicine treatment for Covid-19 inspired by 1,800-year-old medical textbook produces fortune for makers
- The Lianhua Qingwen capsule has become part of China’s standard therapy for Covid-19 patients
- A clutch of traditional Chinese medicine makers has reaped stunning results in the first quarter
One of China’s treatments for Covid-19 is a controversial traditional Chinese medicine inspired by a medical textbook written 1,800 years ago. The huge popularity of the drug – the Lianhua Qingwen capsule – has produced massive fortunes for the company behind it, as well as its shareholders.
Beyond the increased sales from the coronavirus pandemic, however, traditional remedy makers still face an uphill battle to prove their medical efficacy, maintain their domestic market share and win recognition overseas.
“Sales income from the Lianhua Qingwen capsule almost doubled in the first quarter of this year,” said Wu Xiangjun, general manager of Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical, which produces the drug, in a written exchange with the South China Morning Post. “We continue to actively push for the product to be registered and sold overseas.”
The capsule, developed in 2003 to treat severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), extracts the essence of 13 herbs based on prescriptions that date back to classic medical texts written during the Han dynasty (206BC–220AD).
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