Besides finding and punishing the people responsible for producing bogus drugs, a more important task is to enhance the quality control for medicine, says a signed article in Workers' Daily. An excerpt follows:

The public is still very concerned about the investigations into the bogus drug produced by Qiqihar No 2 Pharmaceutical Company.

It is stunning that a drug meant to treat diseases is lethal.

The authorities are performing their duties by sealing all the medicine, and the responsible personnel shall receive their due punishment soon.

Yet beyond these measures, it is imperative to know how the bogus drug went through all the manufacturing and sales procedures without being detected, then was injected into patients and killed them.

Until this question is answered, people will not be able to stop worrying about the safety of drug use in hospitals.

The state has formulated a series of laws and regulations to secure the quality of medicine with detailed rules about the production, circulation, quality control and supervision.

However, the fact that the bogus drug has reached the patients smoothly is proof of loopholes in the implementation of these laws and regulations.

According to reports, a primary investigation shows that there is "apparent fault" in the production of the company. Why did the relative authorities never find this "apparent fault" before the bogus drug was produced and claimed lives?

Common people do not have adequate knowledge to examine the quality of medicine, which means they are left to become innocent victims if bogus drugs are not picked out by the supervising department.

Therefore, the department in charge of examining and supervising medicine quality must not shed its responsibility for ignoring their duty and letting the bogus drug into the hospital.

At the same time, this unfortunate accident caused by the bogus drug also reveals that the governing laws and regulations are far from being fully implemented. Those who have produced or sold bogus drugs do not get punished harshly enough.

While we mourn the victims of the bogus drug, we should also remember the most urgent task: Find and erase the loopholes in the network for drug quality control.

(China Daily May 19, 2006)