China's drug safety watchdog has blacklisted 23 Websites for selling fake drugs or publishing illegal advertisements exaggerating the benefits of their products.

The Websites, some of which claim to be sponsored by research institutions of renowned universities, were identified by the State Food and Drug Administration on its Website yesterday.

They sold drugs claiming to cure everything from body odor, skin diseases, diabetes and tumors, the SFDA said.

One of the Websites, Nrgnqkfw.cn/12315tf, which claimed to be sponsored by the rehabilitation center for bone diseases with China Medical University, sold a drug to treat necrosis of the thigh bone. The Website can still be visited, but its 24-hour hot-line is continually engaged.

China Medical University changed into Peking University Health Science Center after it was incorporated into the university in 2000. The PUHSC said it did not have a rehabilitation center for bone diseases.

A SFDA spokeswoman, Yan Jiangying, said the SFDA had reported the 23 Websites to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for further investigation.

The Websites would be closed if their illegal activities were confirmed. The SFDA would work with the public security authorities and postal services on the investigations, Yan said.

Under China's Criminal Law, those producing or selling fake drugs face the death penalty if the drugs result in death or serious damage.

Yan admitted that it was difficult to completely stop illegal Websites. "Frequently we found that shortly after a batch of Websites were shut down, illegal Websites appeared at some other places," Yan said.

She said only those with the SFDA license of Internet medicine business could legally sell over-the-counter drugs to individuals. Only 10 Websites in China have the license, she said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 9, 2008)