BEIJING, Oct. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- A traditional Chinese medicine will undergo a clinical curative effect test given by Synarc in line with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s requirement. 

    Tongjitang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. of southwest China's Guizhou Province signed a contract with Synarc, a US professional drug test service provider, in Beijing on Tuesday. Synarc will carry out clinical curative effect test on a traditional Chinese medicine to treat osteoporosis. 

    It is for the first time a Chinese herbal medicine to be tested in line with western clinical curative effect standards, Qi Guomin, official of Ministry of Health, told Xinhua. 

    Some of the Chinese traditional medicines have passed the FDA's safety test and been sold as "health food" in western countries, Qi said. 

    Professor Luo Xianzheng of Chinese Medical Association said on the signing ceremony that one of the major obstacle making Chinese herbal medicine unacceptable to western countries and people is the traditional Chinese medicine does not have quantitative data of its effectiveness. China's export of herbal materials is much more than the herbal officinals, Luo said. 

    "To persuade westerners to use Chinese medicine, scientific and accurate test data are essential," Qi said. 

    Undergoing quantitative measurement and evaluation is the only way to introduce Chinese herbal drug to the world's pharmaceutical market, professor Luo said. 

    The test will be carried out in China under FDA's criteria and the result will be released in 2006.