A Study on the Industrialization Pathway and Realization of Economic Value of Leeches as an Authentic Traditional Chinese Medicine

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to systematically examine the industrialization pathway of leeches as an authentic traditional Chinese medicine, analyze the economic and social benefits in depth, clarify the mechanisms underlying the realization of these values, and investigate the evolving interplay among policy support, industrial incentives, and technological innovation systems in recent years, with the objective of providing a solid theoretical foundation and practical guidance for advancing the high-quality and sustainable development of the leech industry. Design/Methodology/Approach – Based on systematic evaluation from both economic and social perspectives, this study employs comprehensive analysis frameworks including cost-benefit analysis considerations, inputoutput model assessments, and industrial chain value addition analysis to examine the leech industry's development pathway and value realization mechanisms. Findings – This paper reveals that the leech industry has evolved beyond traditional medicinal material sales to form a multi-tiered and high-value-added industrial chain, achieving transformation from primary agricultural commodities to advanced health products with enhanced therapeutic and market value, while delivering significant social contributions in public health advancement, rural revitalization, ecological conservation, and TCM heritage preservation. Research Implications – In the management and policy domains, this research suggests strengthening fundamental research and data infrastructure development, advancing seed industry innovation and core technological breakthroughs, improving standardization framework across the entire industrial chain, and deepening interdepartmental policy coordination and industry-finance integration to facilitate the higher-quality and more resilient growth of the medicinal leech industry.