Page 27 - Sphere No.26 (Mar 2010)

Issue 26 25
MODERN PRODUCTION METHODS have
helped make a traditional Chinese herb,
with a healing history going back several
thousand years, one of the 21st century’s
anti-viral drugs of choice. Ban Lan Gen,
one of Hutchison Baiyunshan’s most
popular products, has been flying
off the shelves in recent years, its
popularity helped in part by the
series of epidemics that have hit
Asia, including SARS, bird flu
and, more recently, swine flu.
People in China are fully
aware of the anti-viral
properties of Ban Lan
Gen, a herb known
to be hugely effective in
remedying colds and flu; health-
conscious consumers have been im-
pressed that the Hutchison Baiyunshan version is
produced using ultra-modern agricultural methods and
strict quality-control procedures.
The sales figures show impressive growth – single herb Ban Lan
Gen granules were up almost 30 per cent on 2008, while Fu Fang Ban Lan
Gen granules, made from a formula of mixed herbs, reported an increase of
nearly 70 per cent.
“It is the highest quality Ban Lan Gen in China, we have put a lot of work
into making sure that is the case,” said Christian Hogg, Chief Operating Officer
of Hutchison China Meditech Limited (Chi-Med), the Hutchison Baiyunshan
holding company. “We have an enormous Ban Lan Gen agricultural operation,
with high standards. Also, we are able to systemise the profile of the core
ingredients so we can make sure that each batch is consistent. This kind of
certification method is unique.”
The herb, known as woad root in the West, is cultivated in various regions
of northern China. The roots are harvested during the autumn and dried and
then processed into granules, which are most commonly consumed dissolved
in hot water or tea. The Chinese public certainly thinks that the Hutchison
Baiyunshan product is a cut above the rest, as shown by the surging sales.
When serious viruses threatened China in recent years, particularly the
southern regions, consumers naturally opted for the most trusted and most
tested products made by Hutchison Baiyunshan. “It is an extremely good
bacterial anti-viral substance, people take it as preventative against colds and
flu, much as westerners would take Vitamin C,” explained Mr Hogg. “It helps
alleviate symptoms very quickly. The main reason it has grown so much has
been these horrendous viruses of the last few years that have been affecting
the region, SARS and bird flu.”
The company was careful not to be seen to capitalise on the natural
epidemics, announcing a price freeze during the height of SARS in 2003.
That, in return, produced a wave of goodwill
among the public in China, in addition to a
renewed curiosity as to how the company was
applying contemporary methods to ancient
herbal remedies.
People who want to know more can go and
see for themselves at a purpose-built museum in
the grounds of the company, which has its base
in the southern city of Guangzhou (see sidebar).
Alternatively, they can listen to the conclusions of
the increasingly large body of Chinese and inter-
national medical experts who are convinced of the
efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM.
An example of this has been the work of Profes-
sor Zhong Nanshan, President of the Chinese
Medical Association, who recently reported on
the promising anti-viral properties of Ban Lan Gen
to a major United States medical conference
organised by the prestigious National Institutes of
Health (NIH). NIH officials, who have visited the
Hutchison Baiyunshan plant, are collaborating
with the company on a one-year study, whereby
50 samples of Ban Lan Gen will be screened
and tested.
Getting such a prestigious body to look
methodically at TCM compounds is a major
breakthrough, one of the first steps in helping
it to be recognised by the various medical and
drug regulatory drug bodies in the United States
and Europe. Currently, most TCM remedies are
limited in the curative claims they can make
when advertising or marketing in these two major
international markets; many can only be sold as
health-enhancing products.
Co-operation efforts by Hutchison Baiyunshan
with bodies such as the NIH are bound to help in
gaining proper certification in future. Millions of
people in China do not need that documentation
to persuade them; the efficacy of Ban Lan Gen, and
other age-old treatments, has been shown over many
How Baiyunshan became
one of the most trusted TCM
brands in southern China
By Mark Graham
Traditional
Chinese Medicine
has played an
important role
in China for
centuries.