A researcher works in a lab at the biomedicine innovation and research center in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on Nov 2. [Photo provided to China Daily]
Since the founding of the center, 12 new medicines have gained clinical trial permits, Akbar said, whereas only 43 Uygur medicines had obtained pharmaceutical licenses since 1995.
Of the new Uygur medicines developed, the total flavonoids extracted from cotton flowers that are commonly used in Uygur medicines can treat early stage Alzheimer's disease. Meanwhile, Nazla powders, which gained clinical trial permits in March 2020, can help to reduce cold symptoms.
"Nazla powders are extracts from eight herbs, some of which are unique to Xinjiang," said Akbar, head of the research team that developed them. "It's a traditional Uygur formula to treat cold. By promoting more Uygur medicines to the market, more people can learn about them and, more importantly, benefit from them."
Sales of ethnic medicines from Xinjiang have grown by an average of about 30 percent a year over the past four years, he added.
The team is also developing a new medicine for vitiligo, a disorder that results in white patches of skin. Uygur medicines have proved to be effective in treating vitiligo and the innovation and research center can help them enter the market more quickly, Akbar said.
The center is also a part of the China-Uzbekistan joint laboratories built under the Belt and Road Initiative. The laboratories, which have branches in both countries, aim to create a medical research and production cluster that can produce medicines, treat patients and offer training.
"The laboratories can help traditional Uygur medicines gain pharmaceutical licenses in both China and Uzbekistan and let them enter the Central Asian market," said Wu Tao, deputy director of the Xinjiang Ethnic Medicines Key Techniques and Engineering Research Center.
Six Uygur medicines have become licensed drugs in Uzbekistan and been widely used, Akbar said.
He said that due to long-lasting bonds dating back to the ancient Silk Road, Uygur medicines are well-known in Uzbekistan and have great market prospects in Central Asia.
