Historic Shaolin Pharmacy finally gets licence to sell drugs
Staff Reporter 2015-08-23 09:09 (GMT+8)
Entrance to the Shaolin Pharmacy in Dengfeng, Henan province, May 2010. (File photo/Xinhua)
The Shaolin Pharmacy, established in 1217 CE and rebuilt in 2004, is in some ways as well known as the Shaolin Temple, but up until now has held no official license to sell medicine, only applying to domestic regulators for a pharmaceutical trade license on Aug. 3, the Beijing Youth Daily reports.
The items Shaolin Pharmacy should be selling are healthcare products and not officially certified medicines, according to the Dengfeng City Food and Drug Administration.
Shaolin Temple is a Chan (Zen) Buddhist temple in Dengfeng county, Zhengzhou, Henan province. Dating back 1,500 years, it is the main temple of the Shaolin school of Buddhism and is known as the cradle of Chinese kung fu. The temple is well known for its medicines and martial arts, as well as its pharmacy with its 800-year history.
The pharmacy's website currently offers 12 items for sale, including some external-use products such as medicinal wine and plaster paste.
The reporter checked Henan province's food and drug bureau website, and found that Shaolin Pharmacy can only be found in the cosmetics manufacturers section but not in the medicine retailers or medicine producers sections.
Shaolin Pharmacy has been seeking commercial partners domestically. Any legal pharmaceutical trader with the ability to order more than 100,000 yuan (US$15,600) worth of medicines from them at one time could establish a partnership with the organization. These partners could then be authorized to sell Shaolin Pharmacy's products, but may not use "Shaolin" in their advertising, one pharmacy staffer said.
Shaolin Pharmacy's products could previously be promoted as being beneficial to human health but cannot be said to have medicinal effects, said one unnamed official at the Henan food and drug administration.
Shaolin Pharmacy on Aug. 3 submitted an application to government regulators in Dengfeng for a pharmaceutical trade license, and the administration has approved it, one related official said.
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