A Chinese herbal medicine used for treating myocardial ischemia has been licensed for sale in the Netherlands, making it the first Chinese therapeutic drug to receive marketing authorization in a mainstream western market.

The Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board (MEB) on March 22 granted marketing authorization for Diao Xin Xue Kang capsules, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced at a press conference Wednesday in Beijing.

The medicine is co-developed by the Chengdu Diao Pharmaceutical Group and the Chengdu Institute of Biology under the CAS.

According to mutual recognition arrangements between European Union members regarding medicine registration, the medicinal product needs to undergo routine application procedures to expand its authorization scope to other EU nations.