History of the Institute of Chinese Medicine

The Institute of Chinese Medicine was founded in 1990 with its status as an institute being endorsed by Companies House.

Its three principal aims have always been, and remain:

  - the promotion of medical research

  - the treatment of patients

  - the education of the medical community, both Western and Chinese in Traditional
  - Chinese medicine 

Over the course of 14 years, the Institute has funded and supervised a number of PhD students in collaboration with, among others, King's College, London, and treated over 10,000 patients. 

The Institute has been fully involved in the development of regulations to ensure the safety of Traditional Chinese medicine, working with governmental bodies such as CITES (The International Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) to prevent the use of products derived from some 30,000 endangered species, of which some 25,000 are plants.

Some of the more recent research programmes undertaken by the Institute have resulted in the patenting of new treatments in conjunction with some of the leading Western pharmaceutical companies. 

We further aim to pursue these goals by widespread public education including dissemination of information via the media.