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The Hong Kong Institute of Biotechnology has joined forces with the
American pharmaceuticals company Syntex and the Chinese Academy of Sciences
to track down the active ingredients of Chinese herbal remedies.

The three-year-old institute and Syntex have formed a joint company
to screen compounds for their potential as new pharmaceutical products.
They will be looking at samples of Chinese herbs and other medicinal products
collected by members of the Chinese Academy.

‘Many of our most important drugs come from plants and fungi,’ says
Dominic Lam, director of the institute. ‘But there are still many, many
plants and microorganisms that contain active ingredients against human
diseases that have not been explored. China has a very rich variety.’

The project also breaks new ground in its liaison with Chinese scientists.
‘This is the first three-way pharmaceutical research collaboration between
Hong Kong, China and the US,’ said Lam.