Four traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) enterprises based in Shandong province have been included in China's first inter-provincial alliance centralized bulk-buying list on TCM formula granules.

One of these enterprises, Chase Sun Pharmaceutical Co, faced challenges while filing its products. As such, Shandong's drug regulatory authorities quickly intervened to assist the company, enabling it to overcome these issues. As a result, the company caught up with the centralized bulk-buying initiative and successfully filed over 400 varieties in the program.

Rongchang Pharmaceuticals is another company that has secured a spot on the bulk-buying list. Prior to submitting its applications, it communicated with the provincial center for drug evaluation and inspection. As a result, the company passed the technical review on its first attempt at applying for new laminated film (bags) materials used in oral liquid doses. The company has completed the filings for four types of material changes, all of which have received market approval.

Shandong province has made great progress in promoting the "TCM Breakthrough" initiative, which aims to provide enhanced support and services for the TCM industry. 

Efforts are underway to improve work efficiency and establish a regular communication mechanism with enterprises in this sector. Additionally, Shandong has been actively deepening the reform of its drug evaluation and approval system by providing more robust, comprehensive and specialized guidance to pharmaceutical companies, particularly for major innovative products.