New Centre strengthens international research collaboration and bilateral relations

Over 80 key guests from government, academia, and the complementary medicines industry celebrated the signing of an agreement between NICM and the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM) to advance collaboration on Chinese medicine research, education and clinical services.

NICM Director, Professor Alan Bensoussan, says the establishment of a joint Chinese Medicine Research, Education and Clinical Centre is a significant milestone in the collaboration between BUCM and NICM.

"The Centre will provide clinical treatment services, Chinese medicine education and training, and clinical and preclinical research, including multicentre trials and clinical research training – together we will deliver an international institutional research collaboration of scale and significance."

Hosted at NICM, the Centre will further develop Traditional Chinese Medicine research and teaching links built up between China and Australia over the last 10 years, with the support of Austrade.
 
Speaking at the event, Australia's Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon. Keith Pitt MP, commented on Australia's significant strengths in complementary medicine research.

"With a well-established regulatory framework, Australian institutions and companies have expertise and established research facilities connecting both clinical and laboratory based research for traditional medicines and have developed techniques for standardization of active component levels in commercial preparations."

Representing the NSW Ministry of Health and NSW Office for Health and Medical Research, Dr Tony Penna reaffirmed the NSW Government's commitment to build and strengthen partnerships with China, discussing the recent establishment of a China Office within the NSW Ministry of Health and a health focused trade delegation earlier in the year to China.

"There is a very strong commitment by the NSW Government to collaborate with the health sector and medical research sector in the People's Republic of China," said Dr Penna, Director, NSW Office for Health and Medical Research.

"It's great to have heard so much passion regarding health and medical research and it has been a platform of this government, NSW State Government, to drive health and medical research within a health system linking education, training and research together, and the platform for change has been translation from the bedside to the patient to the population health, the passion is phenomenal."

His Excellency Cheng Jingye, Ambassador, Embassy of the People's Republic of China, Professor Xu Anlong, Vice-Chancellor and President of BUCM and Professor Barney Glover, Vice-Chancellor and President of Western Sydney University also provided an address at the event.

The new Centre commences in 2017 with a trial in clinical services delivery at the Campbelltown Uniclinic of Western Sydney University.