China's drug watchdog vowed to tighten supervision of the quality of human serum albumin-related medicine after a series of fake albumin medicine production and sales cases were exposed.

An official with the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) said the SFDA is spot-checking the human serum albumin-related medicine used in local medical organizations by using an instant test method.

He said the SFDA kicked off a nationwide check-up on the quality of albumin-related medicine at the beginning of this year and has spotted a slew of fake albumin medicine production and selling cases in provinces and autonomous regions such as Shanxi, Hubei, Hunan, Ningxia, Qinghai, Chongqing and Jilin.

The illegal factories have been shut down. Fake medicines have been recalled and criminal suspects involved have been transferred to judicial organs, said the official.

Low blood albumin levels can be caused by malnutrition, malabsorption, liver disease, nephrotic syndrome or neoplasia.

Human serum albumin-related medicine can help cure or relieve some diseases such as liver disease and nephrotic syndrome. But doctors said fake albumin medicine may cause septicaemia.

Driven by high profits, many people produced and sold fake albumin medicine at the risk of ending up on the wrong side of the law.

Local police in Chongqing Municipality arrested five fake albumin medicine peddlers on Feb. 26

The five criminal suspects sold 120 bottles of fake albumin medicine and earned 20 yuan per bottle. A couple in Chongqing suffered septicaemia after taking some fake medicine they sold.

(Xinhua News Agency April 4, 2007)