A Chinese medicine-based herbal formula developed in Taiwan called Taiwan Chingguan Erhau (清冠二號), or NRICM102, could reduce the mortality rate of COVID-19 cases who experience severe symptoms by 50 percent, National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine (NRICM) director Su Yi-chang (蘇奕彰) said.
Su talked about the treatment on Sunday at the Taipei Traditional Chinese Medicine International Forum, saying that following the success of Taiwan Chingguan Yihau (清冠一號), or NRICM101, the institute is applying for patents and trademarks for the new formulation.
In 2020, permission was granted to export Taiwan Chingguan Yihau, and it has been sold in more than 50 countries with positive responses from overseas, Su said.
Photo: Tsai Si-pei, Taipei Times
Taiwan Chingguan Yihau received emergency use authorization in May last year from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which allowed it to be manufactured and used for clinical treatment in Taiwan.
Eight pharmaceutical companies have authorization to manufacture the formula.
Taiwan Chingguan Erhau is a modification of its predecessor, which includes indigowoad root, heartleaf houttuynia herb and scutellaria root, among others, Su said.
Ingredients “helpful in fighting viruses” and “regulating the immune system” remain in Taiwan Chingguan Erhau, while stronger substances that “help bolster health maintenance” were substituted for those with modest effects, he added.
Clinical trials of Taiwan Chingguan Yihau were conducted from May to August last year in 15 hospitals including the Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei Hospital and Taoyuan General Hospital.
Results showed that the chance of people with COVID-19 developing severe symptoms was reduced by 80 percent if they were using the formula, Su said.
Over the same period, more than 100 cases with severe symptoms received Taiwan Chingguan Erhau in clinical trials, with results suggesting a 50 percent drop in mortality rate within 30 days, he said.
Asking pharmaceutical companies to target only COVID-19 cases with severe symptoms is impractical as the pandemic wanes, Su said, adding that the institute plans to test Taiwan Chingguan Erhau’s usefulness against other severe lung diseases.
The formula’s effectiveness in treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiac and pulmonary arrest, and pulmonary embolism are being assessed, he said.
Su also said that unlike Western medicines that target one disease, a Chinese medical formula can usually treat many diseases.
Taking Chinese medicine is unlikely to produce side effects or develop resistance the same way drugs or antibiotics do, he said.
Su said that the institute plans to approach companies that are interested in manufacturing Taiwan Chingguan Erhau and follow the procedures for launching new medical treatments in Taiwan.
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
RSS