India and China may initiate a joint programme to strengthen the collaboration in the fields of herbal and traditional medicines. The collaboration is likely to be projected as a model in Asia Pacific region where other Asian countries can join later through the Asia Pacific Center for Transfer of Technology (APCTT).

The proposal was forwarded by a group of Indo-Chinese experts who met here under the joint auspices of the Council for Industrial and Scientific Research (CSIR) and Natural Foundation of Science China (NSFC).

The proposals include a proposal for developing common herbal pharmacopoeia, database on various aspects of herbal drug sector, joint quality certification protocols and joint research programmes.

According to sources, the Indo-Chinese experts felt the need for a common database on medicinal plant resources and their products including marketing, based on published information, in the interest of both the countries. "We can jointly work out the structure of database. Both countries may share plant and product resources as per the provisions of CBD and IPR laws honouring norms of biodiversity and associated knowledge systems of respective countries." They said.

It was also decided that both countries should attempt to develop a list of therapeutically useful plants, preferably limit 50 initially, and prioritize those so that there is a meaningful pooling of resources and joint promotion of trades of these medicinal plants. Development of common herbal pharmacopoeia on the lines of European Pharmacopoeia was another major decision.

Strategies will be worked out for research programmes including exchange visits of scientists / experts and training in identified areas, prioritization of medicinal plant species, particularly those common to both the countries and with similar or dissimilar functionalities, by scientific institutions of both the countries in project mode. National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow was identified as a nodal institute to initiate this programme in CSIR.

Two countries may also develop joint certification protocols and shared protocols for IPR protection. Possibilities of joint efforts to integrate medicine with modern science for providing safe and effective remedies for those ailments where no cure is available in modern medicine were discussed. Suggestions for the development of common certificate of herbal products and common SOPs for rare, medicinal plants, for GMP, GLP, GHP, GAP, and GCP and efforts for harmonization of such parameters so that production / manufacturing of herbal products of one country are recognized in China and India as well as other countries of the Asia - Pacific region were also made.