Shanghai Innovative Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine (SIRC/TCM), as a research and development (R&D) institution for TCM modernization, was founded with co-investments by Science and Technology Committee of Shanghai, Pudong New Area Government of Shanghai and Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park Development Corporation in April 2000. With supports from Ministry of Science and Technology of China and Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, SIRC/TCM is designated as both the “Core” of the Innovation Center of TCM Modernization in Shanghai and one of national key project incubators on biomedical research in China.

Since its establishment, SIRC/TCM is aiming at TCM modernization and innovative drug discovery by integrating modern life science, chemistry, and information technology with TCM. With six years’ It gradually sets up a new medicine innovative development system of “knowing what, why and how” and makes efforts to develop TCM into a crucial component of knowledge economy. With a 60-staff R&D team led by PhDs and masters, SIRC/TCM has not only set up a full-function new drug R&D system, covering the fields of TCM informatics, phytochemistry, analytical test, organic synthesis, pharmacology & toxicology, TCM genomics, drug design and kilogram-level workshop, but also successfully established a public service platform of TCM R&D informatics, a research platform of TCM genomics for drug-screening and a synthetic platform for development of saponin drug. The center has been facilitated with advanced instruments and equipments such as 200MHzNMR, HPLC, GC/MS, LC/MS, PCR, SPF-grade animal facility and etc.

As a national professional incubator, besides independent research and development, SIRC/TCM endeavors to explore markets, construct functional platforms, and improve the innovative system. By means of combination of TCM with inter-disciplines, SIRC/TCM has gradually established a TCM modernization R&D system integrating scientific research and development, project service, information exchange, risk investment.