China's drug watchdog has ordered officials in drug
administration departments to divest themselves of the 3.5 million
shares they held in pharmaceutical companies.
Qu Shuhui, disciplinary inspection head of the State Food and
Drug Administration (SFDA), told Xinhua Tuesday that this move is a
key step to combat corruption in the field of drug
administration.
"Drug officials cannot properly supervise a pharmaceutical
company that they hold shares in," Qu said. The SFDA had ordered
its staff to relinquish their shares, he added.
Apart from the shares, Qu said, SFDA staff registered and handed
in gifts and money valued at over 2.6 million yuan
(US$325,000).
Twenty-two companies run by SFDA departments will be
disconnected from the administration to prevent corruption, said
Qu.
The SFDA has been swept up in an anti-corruption investigation
since a bribery scandal -- involving China's top drug safety
official Zheng Xiaoyu -- hit the headlines.
Zheng allegedly failed to properly supervise the drug market,
abused the administration's drug approval authority by taking
bribes, and turned a blind eye to malpractice by relatives and
subordinate officials, according to the Communist Party of China's
Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Zheng, who had retired before the exposure and first came under
investigation by the anti-corruption watchdog last December, was
expelled from the Communist Party of China in March.
Qu said Zheng's case highlighted weaknesses in the current SFDA
system such as incomplete laws, inappropriate use of administrative
power, a lack of internal supervision, and weak anti-corruption
attitudes among officials.
"Zheng's case, followed by a number of deaths linked to shoddy
medicines last year, had a very negative public impact, and calls
were made for a thorough reform of the SFDA," Qu said.
The SFDA launched a nationwide anti-corruption campaign in
mid-January. Measures included selling off officials' shares in
pharmaceutical companies, requiring high-ranking officials to
change working posts, and revising rules and regulations.
Last month, the SFDA issued eight anti-corruption rules, banning
its staff from activities that could easily lead to graft or misuse
of administrative power.
According to the rules, officials are no longer allowed to take
part in banquets, recreation, and tourism activities that may
influence the fairness of procedures. Officials, as well as their
spouses and children, are banned from holding stocks in drug
companies.
Officials may not accept lecture fees, consultancy fees,
expensive gifts, or securities offered by drug companies and
intermediate agencies. They must not disclose information
concerning drug, health food, or medical instrument
applications.
Qu said SFDA will further enhance drug safety supervision by
tightening controls on the registration of new medicines and
setting up a black list of illegal pharmaceutical advertising.
Shao Daosheng, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, said China's pharmaceutical industry has become the focus
of public dissatisfaction, with fake and unsafe medicines more
widespread and hospitals selling unnecessary drugs to patients to
pad out their income.
"Big profits in the pharmaceutical field have seen drug
officials trading influence for money, and an explosion of
commercial bribery," Dao said.
China reported 9,582 commercial bribery cases involving more
than 1.5 billion yuan (US$187.5 million) in 2006.
(Xinhua News Agency April 4, 2007)