SciDev.Net

Laws to ensure native communities retain the rights to local knowledge are in reality a barrier to progress, says a report.

Xechem International, the US-based company that owns the rights to a promising sickle cell anaemia treatment, has filed for bankruptcy.

A Chinese company is suing the government for refusing to license its "effective" herbal HIV treatment.

Production of a herbal-based sickle cell anaemia drug could be under threat as the companies involved are surrounded by allegations of corruption.

A round-up of news from or about South Asia for the period 1–15 March 2008.

Decreasing supplies of medicinal plants are endangering South Africa's traditional medicine industry, says a report.

A research and development centre for Arab Bedouins has been reopened in southern Israel's Negev desert.

Clinical trials of a traditional medicine to treat HIV are set to begin this month in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa.

An increase in the use of traditional medicine has prompted Southern African countries to resolve to develop safety guidelines.

China has launched a long-term development plan to boost research and innovation in traditional Chinese medicine.

By targetting the early stages of malaria infection, a compound derived from tree bark could help fight the disease, say researchers.

A new committee is the latest in a series of government efforts to bridge the gap between science and traditional medicine in Nigeria.

Delegates at a meeting in Congo last week urged African governments to integrate traditional medicine into their public health systems.

China has launched a new programme to research drug safety, focusing on treatments used in its traditional medicine.

Studies on traditional remedies should go straight to patient trials, instead of wasting resources on basic research, says a senior researcher.

China has announced an international project that aims to modernise its research and development of traditional medicines.

A Uganda-based Iranian will stand trial next month for selling, without official approval, what he claims is a cure for HIV/AIDS.

Delegates to the UN biodiversity convention are failing to resolve a debate over access to genetic resources and traditional knowledge.

Scientists have called on South Asian nations to work together on research to exploit biological resources and boost agriculture.

Stem cell research and traditional medicine are emerging as key areas for scientific collaboration between China and India.