UM MITMI holds first committee meeting; Zhong Nanshan highly praises MITMI’s development

The Steering Committee and the Academic Committee of the Macau Institute for Translational Medicine and Innovation (MITMI) at the University of Macau (UM) recently held their first meeting in Guangzhou, which combined both online and in-person elements. Experts participating in the meeting comprehensively evaluated the recent development of MITMI, highly praised its development direction, and recognised its achievements in regulatory science research.

Chan Wan Hei, president of the Administrative Committee of the Science and Technology Development Fund of Macao; Chan Hon Sang, deputy director of the Economic and Technological Development Bureau; and Ge Wei, vice rector of UM, each gave a speech at the opening ceremony of the meeting. Participants in the meeting included Zhong Nanshan, president of the MITMI Steering Committee; Yang Zifeng, member of the MITMI Steering Committee; Tang Jianyuan, deputy director of the MITMI Academic Committee; and other members of the MITMI Academic Committee, including Li Shaoping, deputy director of the State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicines (University of Macau); Jiang Zhihong, vice president of the Macau University of Science and Technology; Sun Xiaobo, director of the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences; Wang Yitao, founding director of the Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences of UM; Zhang Lei, executive deputy director of Shanghai Innovation Center of TCM Health Service, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine; Chen Xiaoyuan, director of the office of clinical facilities of Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital; Yang Zhongqi, deputy director of First Affiliated Hospital of the Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine; He Ruyi, chief medical officer of Rongchang Pharmaceuticals; Dou Jinhui, chief scientific officer of Tripod Preclinical Research Laboratories Co, Ltd; and Chen Jianghan, director of the Institute of Analysis, Guangdong Academy of Sciences (China National Analytical Center, Guangzhou).

During the meeting, Zhong awarded appointment certificates to members of the Academic Committee. He appraised Macao for its achievements in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) research (especially in basic research), and expressed hope that Macao would keep on using TCM as an entry point to promote economic diversification of the city. According to him, MITMI has attained many achievements since its establishment, but the epidemic and the fact that Macao and mainland governments need to overcome the differences in their systems and philosophy have slowed down the development of the institute. He expressed hope that the MITMI would develop faster in the future. He pointed out that the key to develop the TCM industry in Macao is to have a good policy and evaluation system, so that quality products from Macao, mainland China, and overseas countries can be registered, invested, developed, and produced through Macao more quickly and conveniently. It is also necessary to consider how to help products develop in Hengqin and other parts of mainland China to achieve a win-win situation between Macao and the mainland. According to Zhong, the development of TCM is a process from empirical medicine to evidence-based medicine and Macao may consider following the pattern of the historical development of TCM to evaluate TCM projects on the premise of safety, effectiveness, and controllable quality. In addition, Macao should adhere to the principle of ‘One Country’ and take advantage of the ‘Two Systems’ arrangement to promote the reform and innovative development of TCM.

This meeting opened a new chapter in the transformation of biomedical research achievements in Macao. With Zhong and his team’s rich experience in translating research results, MITMI will become a biomedical platform that aligns with international standards in the Greater Bay Area. The institute will gather innovative talent and R&D resources in TCM and translational medicine from Macao and mainland China to draw on the strengths of both places in research, further advance the development of TCM-based healthcare projects, promote research results transfer, and facilitate the establishment of footholds of high-quality projects in both places. Together these initiatives will form the last component of the supply chain for Macao’s healthcare industry and will help to promote economic diversification of Macao.