China's pharmaceutical watchdog on Tuesday launched a six-month
national campaign to improve the policing of drug markets in a bid
to prevent accidents caused by fake drugs and medical
equipment.
At a national meeting in Beijing, State Food and Drug
Administration (SFDA) leaders told branch officials to enhance
supervision of license applications, and the production,
distribution and use of drugs, vaccines and medical equipment.
Drug companies found giving misleading information in their
license applications would be blacklisted and publicly named, and
those with inadequate management, illegal production and potential
risks to the safety of drugs in production would be punished, an
SFDA official said.
Drugs packaging, labels and instructions must ensure that the
chemical names are more noticeable than their commercial names, to
help the public avoid paying inflated prices for common
medicines.
It also urged improved surveillance and reporting of negative
effects or incidents of drugs and medical equipment, and stepped up
coordination with health departments in publicity and management of
drugs in clinical use.
Drug and food safety was crucial to people's lives and their
supervision and inspection required constant effort and attention,
said Vice-Premier Wu Yi in a letter delivered to the meeting.
The campaign is due to start in June and "must achieve
progress", said Shao Mingli, head of the SFDA.
Nine people died earlier this month and two others are still
fighting for their lives after receiving fake drugs in Guangzhou,
capital of south China's Guangdong Province, earlier this
month.
They received injections of a drug purporting to be Armillarisni
A produced by the Qiqihar No. 2 Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a private
manufacturer based in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
Two people are still in a critical condition after falling into
a complete coma.
The government closed the company and banned the sale of all its
medicines after the incident was revealed. Efforts have also been
made to trace and recall drugs.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao ordered government departments to
launch a thorough investigation into the incident and intensify the
regulation of the pharmaceutical market.
(Xinhua News Agency May 31, 2006)