澳大新語 • 2022 UMAGAZINE 26 44 專題探討 • TOPIC INSIGHT In line with the national development strategy, the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government has laid out a plan to seize the opportunities brought by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin and to develop the health industry with Chinese medicine research and development (R&D) and manufacturing as an entry point. In response to the demand for health industry professionals in Macao, the Greater Bay Area, and the entire country, the University of Macau (UM) has optimised its academic programmes and has launched degree programmes in areas such as global public health and medicinal administration with the goal of training interdisciplinary professionals for the industry. Supporting the Chinese Medicine Industry through Education and Research As an international public university in the Macao SAR, UM began to nurture outstanding professionals and accumulated research resources for the development of the Chinese medicine industry in Macao 20 years ago; this industry is poised to grow today. Established in 2002, the Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences (ICMS) is dedicated to training high-calibre and globally oriented professionals in Chinese medicine for Macao through innovative Chinese medicine research as well as master’s and doctoral degree programmes in the areas of biomedical sciences and medicinal science. Approved and established in 2011, the State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine (SKL-QRCM) focuses on the study of innovative technologies and methodologies in quality research in Chinese medicine as well as key technologies for the R&D of new Chinese medicines. The lab is also dedicated to research on international quality standards for Chinese medicine and has made impressive progress in pushing forward the standardisation and internationalisation of Chinese medicine. ICMS and SKL-QRCM strive to conduct quality research in Chinese medicine, initiate research on original topics, and strengthen the transfer of research results to help promote economic diversification of Macao. In terms of academic performance, professors working in the laboratory have published over 3,000 articles in journals covered by the Science Citation Index (SCI), with a total of over 68,000 citations, and the quantity and quality of the papers have improved year on year. With the integration of technologies such as artificial intelligence and advanced materials, the laboratory has made breakthroughs in areas such as drug discovery, drug delivery, quality standardisation, and international registration. In terms of the transfer of research results, the laboratory and the Macao Centre for Research and Development in Chinese Medicine have joined hands at various stages to carry out more than ten industry-academia collaboration projects on innovative drugs, classic Chinese medicine recipes, famous varieties, and rapid testing. In terms of international influence, the laboratory has established quality standards for more than 20 Chinese medicinal plants for authoritative publications such as United States Pharmacopeia, European Pharmacopoeia, and Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Chinese Medicine, an SCI-indexed journal edited by SKL-QRCM staff, continues to be the flagship journal in the field of Chinese medicine. The laboratory was also awarded the Medal of Merit – Professionals by the Macao SAR government in 2021 for its achievements. Located in the Research Building in the north of UM’s campus, ICMS shares the same building with the laboratories of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS). According to Chen Xin, director of ICMS and an expert in Chinese medicine and immunology, UM established the Macao Centre for Research and Development in Chinese Medicine in 2020 with the support of the Science and Technology Development Fund, adding that it is in the process of establishing the Macao Centre for Testing of Chinese Medicine to further improve the R&D platform for Chinese medicine and promote the integration of industry, universities, and research institutes in Chinese medicine. ICMS is fully committed to supporting the Macao SAR government’s industrial development policy and aims to use Chinese medicine as an entry point to promote the development of the health industry. ‘We have an international faculty team with strong teaching and research capabilities. After 20 years of hard work, we have produced more than 800 master’s and PhD degree graduates to support the development of the Chinese medicine industry in Macao and the entire country,’ says Prof Chen. ‘Many of the graduates have gone on to work as executives in industrial parks, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, or health departments in Macao, mainland China, and other regions. Some of them have set up biotechnology companies in the cooperation zone in Hengqin to contribute to the development of the health industry.’
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