The State Food and Drug Administration has announced plans to
install supervisors in pharmaceutical plants involved in producing
plasma products and vaccines.
"The move is to ensure qualified drug production and prevent an
outbreak of major drug-related accidents," said Shao Mingli, head
of the administration.
"The drug safety problems exist in every phase; from research
and development to production, circulation and clinical use," Shao
admitted. "Problems with fake and poor-quality drugs are not being
well addressed in some regions."
Chinese consumers' confidence in the country's drugs industry
hit a record low last year after several substandard drugs caused
several fatalities.
Last year, 11 people died and hundreds suffered from severe
side-effects after receiving an injection of Xinfu. Investigations
later found that the drug was not properly sterilized in the
production process.
Shao said supervisors dispatched to the drug plants were
required to spot hidden problems with the production.
According to the administration, it also plans to intensify a
crackdown on false drug advertisements this year and improve the
response mechanism for drug-related accidents.
(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2007)