Staff members at Yabao Pharmaceutical Group work on a production line for DingGui Erqi Patches, a popular TCM solution for children’s diarrhea and abdominal pain. [Photo/Shanxi Daily]

Yabao Pharmaceutical Group has received approval from Canada to market its traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) products in the country and has been included on the Stringent Regulatory Authority list, according to a press conference held by the group in Beijing on May 24.

The popular TCM solution, DingGui Erqi Patches, have been given the green light by Health Canada to be marketed as a "natural health product," said the company in a statement at the conference. Its sales amounted to 465 million yuan ($72.79 million) in 2017.

DingGui Erqi Patches are mainly used for the treatment of children’s diarrhea and abdominal pain. The product is used as part of navel therapy, a TCM treatment method. The doctor will apply the drug directly to a patient’s navel for the prevention and treatment of disease.

The TCM solution is currently playing a vital role in treating various diseases and has four invention and design patents with the research achievements recognized by the World Congress of Chinese Medicine.

However, TCM has difficulties in entering mainstream pharmaceutical markets in Europe and America due to differences in culture and medical theories.

With the regulatory approval it has received in Canada, Yabao Pharmaceutical Group is now able to "go global" and work toward getting the DingGui Erqi Patches approved in other countries and regions such as the United States, Japan and Europe, helping enlarge its customer base.

The first listed company in Shanxi's pharmaceutical industry, Yabao Pharmaceutical has been developing top quality external medicine for children and leading the industry's transformation and upgrading since its establishment.

As for the future prospects of DingGui Erqi Patches, the size of the domestic pediatric medicine market is expected to exceed 240 billion yuan by 2020 due to the national second-child policy, which will bring the firm more opportunities to develop pediatric medicines, said the group’s president Ren Wuxian.