In pursuit of advancing the field of Chinese medicine to benefit human kind, this Consortium aims at bringing together a network of academic, industrial and regulatory agencies under an academic collaboration arrangement focusing on two main areas:

• Development of a centralized relational database of Chinese medicine that is completed with formulations, botanical ingredients and phytochemical substances along with associated biological information on traditional and modern therapeutic indication, clinical information, animal pharmacology, biochemical activities, toxicities and manufacturing information.
• Standardization and adoption of a modern quality control platform for chemical and biological fingerprinting of botanical drugs for scientific and regulatory purposes.

The objectives of the Consortium are to establish (1) a comprehensive informatics approach to assess potentially useful Chinese medicine formulations and (2) a consensual scientific platform for quality control to aid acceptance, hence contributing to the globalization of Chinese Medicine. During the three years' planning session, the founding members of this Consortium will define the core partners, establish the common vision, sign agreements of cooperation, information and profit sharing, set up the operating council, advisory boards and establish a working alpha version test site. The long-term goal is to establish an information driver platform to accelerate the development of high-quality Chinese Medicine.

The founding members of this Consortium hereby sign a Memorandum of Understanding for Academic Collaboration to strengthen mutual understanding, to foster cooperation, and to promote academic collaboration and exchange, as follows:

• All parties agree to undertake, within the framework of the regulations applying in each of the institutions and subject to the availability of resources, the following:
• Launching of joint research activities, including, for this purpose, mutual visits by faculty members and research personnel;
• Exchange of faculty members and research personnel for short-term learning and training;
• Exchange of academic publications; and
• Organization of joint symposia, seminars and academic meetings and conferences.

The terms of and the necessary resources for each of these joint activities and exchange programs shall be individually discussed and mutually agreed upon in writing by all parties prior to the initiation of the particular activity or program.

The Memorandum shall remain in force for three years. Any amendment of and/or modification to the Memorandum shall require written approval from all parties. This Memorandum may be renewed by mutual consent. All parties reserve the right to withdraw from this Memorandum upon six months' notice to the Consortium.