China and Pakistan have jointly launched an herbal medicine research laboratory in Zhejiang province. The official unveiling took place at the 2026 International Symposium on Traditional Chinese Medicine- Unani Medicine Cooperation and SCO Member States Traditional Medicine Industry Exchange Forum held in Ningbo.
The Joint Laboratory is a provincial-level international science and technology cooperation platform approved by the Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province in December 2025. It was established based on the Institute of Drug Discovery Technology at Ningbo University, in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine of Ningbo University and Ningbo Kangning Hospital.
On Pakistan’s side, partner institutions include the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences at the University of Karachi and the University of Lahore.
Professor Zhao Yufen, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and dean of the Institute of Drug Discovery Technology at Ningbo University, serves as chair of the Academic Committee of the Joint Laboratory. Professor Liu Xinmin from the Institute of Drug Discovery Technology serves as the Chinese director, while Professor Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, chief scientist at the University of Karachi and the University of Lahore, serves as the Pakistani director.
The laboratory brings together a total of 50 team members, including 30 Chinese researchers and 20 overseas researchers. The interdisciplinary fields covered include Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Unani Medicine, pharmacy, medicine, biology, chemistry, artificial intelligence, and policy and regulation.
Research priorities at the Joint Laboratory include preclinical studies of traditional Chinese medicine, clinical studies of TCM, international registration of related products, academic exchanges, and talent training. On this occasion, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Traditional Medicine Industry Alliance (SCO-TMIA) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (OIC-COMSTECH) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate in areas related to Traditional Chinese Medicine and Unani Medicine, including clinical research on traditional medicine, policy and regulatory research, registration facilitation, and capacity building and talent cultivation in traditional medicine regulation.