Research and Clinical Studies

We are proud to be working with the Centre for Evidence-Based Chinese Medicine at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Southampton Clinical Trials Unit (SCTU) at the University of Southampton and Anhui Jiren Pharmaceutical Company to investigate the effects of the herbal formula, ShuFeng JieDu.

The collaborative project is being funded by Innovate-UK and the Chinese government’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). The government-funded clinical trial has been launched to investigate Chinese herbal medicine for the treatment of chronic lung disease COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). COPD affects over one million patients in the UK and flare-ups are usually treated with antibiotics and steroids. However, recent studies have shown only 35% of exacerbations of COPD require antibiotic-use.

The trial aims to work with primary care centres in the UK and affiliated hospitals in China to reduce the use of antibiotics and promote Chinese medicine as an alternative.

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We worked with Dr Andrew Flower and his team to supply the RUTI trial with high quality herbal medicine. After extensive research, the team chose Phoenix Medical as we are the UK distributor of Jiangyin Tianjiang Pharmaceutical concentrated herbal granules. Tianjiang is the only brand of concentrated herbal medicine that is approved by the NHS and this being due to their unprecedented state of the art research and development department and technology.

Jiangyin Tianjiang Pharmaceutical Co. is a Chinese state approved supplier of dried herbs extracts that also has Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA). Every herb used in the trial is collected from either wild or specially cultivated fields in China. These herbs are dried, stored and processed according to traditional methods but using modern methods of production. Each herb supplied has a Certificate of Analysis and is tested for authenticity, heavy metals, microbial and fungal contamination.

The RUTI trial was a multi-centred, 16 week, randomised, double-blind, feasibility study investigating the possible role of Chinese herbal medicine in the treatment of recurrent urinary tract infections (RUTIs).

For more information about the study visit the RUTI website.

From 2012-2013, Phoenix Medical supported and supplied the ORCHID study with herbal medicine. This study was run by the late Professor George Lewith, Dr Michael Moore, Dr Andrew Flower and Dr Lily Lai, at the University of Southampton.

After evaluating a number of factories in Asia, Jiangyin Tianjiang Pharmaceutical Co. was confirmed as the chosen manufacturer of herbal medicine for the trial. As Phoenix Medical is an RCHM approved supplier, we were proud to be the sole supplier of Tianjiang concentrated herbs to the ORCHID study.

This study involves using Chinese herbal medicines for symptoms and problems experienced by women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), a government research organisation and is led by a team of GPs and researchers from the University of Southampton. This study has now been completed. You can find the article in the European Journal of Integrative Medicine.