November 3, 2006 - Eu Yan Sang (Hong Kong) Limited ("EYS"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eu Yan Sang International Ltd ("Eu Yan Sang"), a leading healthcare company with a focus on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), officially opened its Eu Yan Sang Centre at Yuen Long Industrial Park today. The new facility, which has a floor area of approximately 130,000 sq. ft., represents a major commitment by the Group to the scientific advancement of TCM in the region.
EYS invested more than HK$110 million in the new Centre, including costs for land acquisition and installation of new machinery and equipment to comply with the latest GMP requirements. Premises for the Centre were secured in 2004, when EYS purchased the land from Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP).
The new Eu Yan Sang Centre was officially commissioned by Mr Henry Tang, GBS, JP, Financial Secretary, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Mr Mike Rowse, JP, Director-General of Investment Promotion, Invest Hong Kong; Dr PY Lam, JP, Director of Health; Mr Carlos Genardini, CEO, HKSTP; Mr Andy Lee Shiu Chuen, Vice-President (Administration) and Secretary, Hong Kong Baptist University; and Mr Richard Eu, Group CEO of Eu Yan Sang.
The facility will become the research and development (R&D), quality assurance and logistics centre for the Eu Yan Sang Group's global TCM business operations. This GMP compliant Centre is also home to one of the region's largest TCM fingerprinting and herb extraction and concentration facilities. With the development of chromatographic fingerprints as benchmarks, EYS is able to address the two major obstacles to the modernization of TCM - authenticity and consistency.
Mr Henry Tang noted at the opening ceremony: "I am very pleased to participate in the grand opening of Eu Yan Sang's new factory here in Yuen Long. It is especially impressive that this very modern and beautiful facility is one of the most advanced traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plants in Asia and triples your manufacturing capacity in Hong Kong. This factory helps bolster Hong Kong's position as a global leader in the TCM industry - which is a high priority for Hong Kong and our government."
Mr Mike Rowse said: "We welcome Eu Yan Sang's plans to use Hong Kong as a base for future development overseas, and look forward to celebrating further expansion of your business here and abroad. I am confident that Hong Kong can and will play an integral part in helping you achieve that growth. We have the institutions, system, regulatory environment and people who will provide you with what you need when you need it."
Mr Carlos Genardini welcomed Eu Yan Sang to the Yuen Long Industrial Park: "The recently upgraded facilities we provide here in Yuen Long, as well as our Bio-informatics Centre at Hong Kong Science Park provide value to Eu Yan Sang and also increase Hong Kong's competitive position as a center of technological innovation, not only for traditional Chinese medicine vendors, but companies in the food processing and nutrition sectors as well. This new facility will provide our current and aspiring professionals in TCM an outstanding opportunity to increase their professional competence."
EYS will use its technology platform to extend its ongoing R&D initiatives in collaboration with the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). For example, already underway in conjunction with HKBU is a ground-breaking study on the efficacy of TCM in treating Parkinson's disease. This study will unveil the potential of applying TCM in parallel with western medicine to improve the quality of life of Parkinson's patients.
EYS has also commissioned CUHK to launch a clinical study on its "Menoease" (©µªö¥Õ»ñ¤Y) product, following a three-year research project by CUHK, and funded by The Innovation and Technology Fund and EYS, to investigate the pharmacological mechanisms underlying "Bak Foong Pills".
Mr Richard Eu remarked: "As a leading player in the region's TCM sector, we are contributing to the nurturing of a new generation of herbalists by using our Centre as a teaching facility for students of HKBU in the herbal stream. We will launch a herbalist internship programme together with HKBU in the coming academic year, which will be the first of its kind in Hong Kong. We hope young herbalist students can benefit from training at our GMP facility. By exposing these future herbal professionals to top-tier TCM technologies, we aim to accelerate the modernization of the TCM industry."
Eu Yan Sang's proprietary herb extraction and concentration facility represents another breakthrough in TCM manufacturing. "Bringing TCM into the modern era is a complex process. In addition to the application of quality assurance manufacturing systems, it is crucial that new dosage technology be developed to advance the herbal production methods traditionally used for preparing pills and powders in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Our sophisticated extraction and concentration technologies not only ensure a high level of standardization of the herbal products, but also offer a number of benefits to users, such as making the dosage smaller, more efficacious and stable," continued Mr Eu.
Eu Yan Sang Centre is located at 10 Wang Lee Street, Yuen Long Industrial Park, Hong Kong. It has a staff strength of more than 100.
About Eu Yan Sang Group
Listed on the Singapore Exchange, Eu Yan Sang International Limited (Eu Yan Sang) is a progressive, global healthcare company with its core focus in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Today Eu Yan Sang is a household name in Asia with an unrivalled reputation as the leader in the TCM industry.
The Group markets fine quality Chinese herbs, Chinese Proprietary Medicines as well as health foods and supplements. It currently offers more than 260 products under the Eu Yan Sang brand name and over 1,000 different types of Chinese herbs and other medicinal products.
Eu Yan Sang has an extensive distribution network comprising more than 110 Eu Yan Sang branded retail outlets in Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore. The company also operates a chain of 13 TCM clinics in Singapore and Malaysia; three specialist TCM clinics in Singapore; and four "YourHealth" integrative medicine centres (IMCs) in Australia.
For more information about the Eu Yan Sang Group, please visit www.euyansang.com.