The key issues and development strategy of Chinese Classical Formulas pharmaceutical preparations

It is well-known that Prof. Tu Youyou won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015 due to the research on artemisinin treating malaria, and this can be regarded as the milestone of modernization of Traditional medicine. This first Nobel Prize in Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has aroused profound impetus in the investigation of TCM and attracted global attention to the ancient books of TCM. Three new medicines for the treatment of COVID-19 derived from Chinese Classical Formula (经典名方, CCF) have been approved in 2021 due to their effectiveness for the treatment of COVID-19. This article introduced the research background of CCF pharmaceutical preparation (CCFPP), explained the ideas for the modernization of CCF and analyzed related issues involved in the development process of CCFPP, including the origin of medicinal materials, processing methods, dosages and the preparation process of CCF Material Reference. The strategy for industrialization was proposed in terms of the evaluation of the pharmaceutical properties, industrialization considerations, and clinical positioning of CCFPP. The key contents and requirements for the development CCFPP were also summarized according to the recently published registration guidance by the Center for Drug Evaluation in China. In addition, the safety issues of CCFPP were described, including the discussion on the non-clinical safety evaluation and analyzation on the international registration of Traditional herbal medicines. This article is aimed to provide references for enterprises, researchers, and relevant personnel of government departments that are engaged in the development of CCF to speed up the developing process of CCFPP.