Public Funding for Phoenix Medical LTD.

Over 25 million people in China had Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in 2010, and this is projected to increase to over 42 million by 2020. Every year, the average COPD patient experiences 2-3 severe episodes called "acute exacerbations" (AECOPD). These are often caused by bacteria and treated with antibiotics, but many of these bacteria (especially in China) no longer respond to the commonest antibiotics, leading to prolonged hospital admissions and more deaths. Shufung Jiedu (SJ), a Traditional Chinese Medicine consisting of 8 traditional Chinese herbs, is already on the market in China. Preliminary research suggests that it can reduce risk of hospitalisation and duration of hospitalisation in patients with AECOPD, and so it could reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance. In this project we will conduct research in parallel in the UK and China to test the effect of SJ in tackling antibiotic resistance in AECOPD, both in laboratory models and in clinical trials. If successful, the results will support the inclusion of SJ in guidelines for the treatment for AECOPD both in China and in the UK, which will open up a very large market for the product.