Dr Azra lauds successful trial of Chinese traditional medicine on Covid patients

Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho has declared successful the clinical trial on the efficacy and safety of Jinhua Qinggan granules (JHQG) conducted at the Centre for Bioequivalence Studies and Clinical Research (CBSCR) for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

She said the successful trial would prove significant for the treatment of patients infected with the viral disease. The health minister was speaking on Monday at the public announcement ceremony of the first-ever successful clinical trial of JHQG at the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi (KU). The ceremony was jointly organised by the Sindh health department, COMSTECH, ICCBS and Chinese institutions.

According to a statement issued by the KU, Dr Azra said the clinical trial at the CBSCR, Dr Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, KU, represented the high level of expertise of Pakistani professionals in the field of clinical research.

She congratulated the experts involved in the clinical research and pointed out that Pakistan’s capacity to conduct internationally registered clinical trials was an important step to meet the challenges of the ever-increasing disease burden.

“I am also pleased to announce that my ministry has recently set up the Sino-Pakistan Traditional Medicine Centre at the ICCBS with Rs136 million with the objective of close collaboration in research and practice of traditional Chinese medicine for the benefit of the people of Sindh,” she remarked.

Scientist Dr Attaur Rahman called the successful trial a historic occasion. He emphasised the deep bilateral relations of Pakistan and China, stating that this close relation on the fronts of science and technology, higher education and information technology was getting strenghtened with each passing day.

The future of our nation lied in developing a strong knowledge economy, he said. KU Acting Vice Chancellor Prof Khalid Iraqi underlined the importance of taking precautionary measures during the ongoing pandemic. He added that during the last 70 years, China had excelled in the field of traditional medicine.

Prof Dr M Iqbal Choudhary informed the event that the Juxiechang (Beijing) Pharmaceutical Company was the manufacturer of the JHQG. He said the CBSCR had officially been declared a centre of the Sindh health department to conduct health-related research.

The centre alone produced about 20 per cent of the PhDs in the chemical and biomedical sciences in Pakistan annually, and the students previously trained at the centre were contributing significantly to the academic and industrial development of the country, he said.

Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong congratulated Pakistani scientists and officials for having successful clinical trials of the Chinese medicine. He said the clinical trial would enhance the bilateral relations between China and Pakistan.

Pakistani Ambassador to China Moinul Haque appreciated the Chinese authorities for providing help to Pakistani health experts to overcome the ongoing pandemic. “Pakistan attaches great importance to developing economic and trade ties with China,” he said.

Prof Dr M Raza Shah said the treatment group showed rapid recovery from symptoms, including cough, sputum, sore throat, dyspnea, headache, nasal obstruction and myalgia, after the administration of JHQG granules. “The drug had no effect on routine blood tests, urinalysis, serum electrolytes, liver function tests, renal function tests and ECGs of patients,” he added.