BANGKOK, 13 February 2015 – The Ministry of Public Health has issued new laws regulating the production and distribution of Thai herbal medicines in a latest move to prevent further thefts of local wisdom.
The Ministry of Public Health has issued a list of 33 types of herbal medicines which practitioners are allowed to produce without having to ask for the Ministry’s permission. However, they are not allowed to patent their products derived from the specified herbs.
The Ministry has also announced 12 recipes leading to more than 4,300 items of traditional medicines of which the production must be permitted by the related agency on a case-by-case basis.
The laws in addition stipulate that those permitted to manufacture any of the herbal medicines specified by the Ministry of Public Health will be required to pay three percent of their income from the sales of their products back to the state coffers. Anyone caught breaking the laws will face a fine of 20,000 baht at maximum or a jail term of up to two years or both.
The laws are expected to prevent further attempts by foreign manufacturers in patenting indigenous herbal plants of Thailand, as occurred several times in the past.
