Chinese police had detained four suspects for selling faked diabetes drugs that have killed two patients in the remote northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a government spokesperson said on Sunday.

The food and drug authorities had started a nationwide check for the fake drugs, said Yan Jiangying, spokeswoman with the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA).

She did not give any details about the suspects detained in Xinjiang.

China's Ministry of Health issued an urgent notice last Friday calling for medical institutions nationwide to immediately stop using a diabetes drug branded "Tang Zhi Ning Jiao Nang" since two patients died on Jan. 17 and 19 after taking the drug.

The death-causing drugs contain an illegal chemical ingredient "glibenclamide" and were illegally using the brand "Tang Zhi Ning Jiao Nang" originally owned by the Guangxi Pingnan Pharmaceutical Co, the spokeswoman said.

The SFDA was investigating the source and distribution of the fake drugs, she said, adding preliminary investigation shows that the faked drugs were not made in Xinjiang.

According to Yan, the SFDA also dispatched a working team on Sunday to Guangxi to help local authorities handle the case.

The ministry also asked medical institutions to record cases where drugs with the same brand had been used and submit samples to local medicine inspection bodies for further examination.

(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2009)