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Lawmakers Call for Harder Crackdown on Drug Counterfeiters
BEIJING, March 12 2002 [XINHUA]
China's law enforcement agencies cracked some 480,000 cases of manufacturing
and marketing of counterfeit drugs with a market value of 470 million yuan
(56.8 million U.S. dollars) last year.
More than 1,300 manufacturers were forced to halt production for overhauling
to meet the national quality standard, and more than 8,600 illegal drug
distributors were permanently closed down, China Daily reported Tuesday.
Zheng Xiaoyu, director of the State Drug Administration, disclosed the
statistics during a group discussion at the ongoing session of the Ninth
National People's Congress (NPC).
The government has pledged to reinforce its zero tolerance campaign on
unqualified or illegal medicine manufacturers, and will "be
very cautious over the establishment of new plants" in a bid to regulate the market, the newspaper quoted Zheng as saying.
His release echoes the views of many lawmakers who have called on government
officials at all levels to be tougher on the counterfeit medicine makers.
They explain that fake drugs pose potentially serious risks to people's
health.
"
The State Council has paid great attention to the issue of counterfeit
drugs in the market. We have reformed our supervision system to fortify
control over the market since last year," Zheng
said, adding that the administration will shut down about half of existing
health care product manufacturers this year, only 1,300 will be left.
"
These manufacturers, which have sneaked into the market due to slack government
control, fail to meet the national quality standard. They must be closed
to prevent rampant counterfeits and unqualified products from going on
sale to the public," he
said.
Song Yadong, an NPC deputy from Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province,
urged the government to enforce severe punishment on counterfeit drug makers
as a deterrent. "We
suffer a shortage of legal instruments to penalize such illegalities, and
our punishment is too weak to be effective," said Song, who is also the deputy director of the Drug Administration of Suihua
City of the province.
A general manager of a pharmaceutical joint-venture said that bogus medicines
not only pose harm to public health, but also affect the dynamic development
of the pharmaceutical industry.
"
We have spent several million yuan a year to trace and help local government
crack down on the counterfeit. The direct losses we suffer from the counterfeit
have reached up to 10 million yuan a year (1.2 million U.S. dollars), or
one percent of our annual revenue," he
said on condition of anonymity.
He said the government must be tough in the crackdown, especially because
China has joined the World Trade Organization ( WTO). The manager said
the work is even harder when some of the counterfeit makers are protected
by local authorities.
"
Our supervision network has not been completed, covering only 84 percent
of the cities, and 73 percent of towns and counties," said
Zheng. "Also we are suffering from insufficient funds to launch large-scale spot inspections
of medicine factories. We need help from local governments."
China warns of health threat from counterfeit drugs
BEIJING, March 12, 2002 Agence France Presse
China's top pharmaceutical official has warned the production of fake
drugs has taken on huge proportions and now poses a serious threat to
public health, state media said Tuesday.
The problem is so serious that the government intends to shut down half
the companies in China's healthcare products market, the China Daily
reported.
Police last year cracked 480,000 cases of firms making and selling counterfeit
drugs, valued at 470 million yuan (57 million dollars), the paper cited
Zheng Xiaoyu, head of the State Drug Administration, as saying.
"
These manufacturers, who have sneaked into the market due to slack government
control, fail to meet the national quality standard," Zheng
told lawmakers at the annual session of parliament in Beijing.
"
They must be closed to prevent rampant counterfeits and unqualified products
from going on sale to the public," he
said.
The government intends to back its words with stern action and plans
to shut down 1,300 companies producing healthcare products this year,
half of the entire industry, the paper said.
But the paper indicated it could be tough to fulfill that pledge, as
Zheng's administration lacks sufficient funding, making it impossible
to launch inspections everywhere it wants to.
Even more important, many pharmaceutical companies are protected by local
officials who rely on the businesses for tax income and also appreciate
the jobs they create for laid-off workers, the paper said.
Reports have emerged occasionally in China's official media showing the
extent of the problem with fake drugs.
In October, officials in eastern China seized 240,000 fake Viagra pills
in what was described as Asia's biggest haul of counterfeit versions
of the anti-impotence drug.
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