Death toll from fake drug rises to 5

By Winny Wang | May 16, 2006, Tuesday |

Print Edition

THE death toll has reached 5 after one more patient in Guangdong Province has died from using a drug produced by the Qiqihar No. 2 Pharmaceutical Co, CCTV reported today.

The Ministry of Health has ordered people to stop taking any drugs related to the Qiqihar drugmaker and the Taixing Chemical Company in Taixing, Jiangsu Province.

Fang Laiying, a spokesman of the Beijing Drug Administration, said yesterday that any drugstore found selling the drugs produced by the company will be fined 3 to 5 times its sales of the drugs. Residents can report or file a complaint to the administration by dialing 8397-9400.

Police have detained several employees from the Qiqihar drugmaker who were involved in ingredient purchasing, logistics and quality control inspection, after the company was linked to the deaths of four patients and the kidney failure of several others.

Several people remain in critical condition, the State Food and Drug Administration said, while discussing their investigation of suspect batches of Armillarisin A.

The drug is typically injected for the treatment of gall bladder, liver and gastric disorders.

Authorities across the country are investigating the circumstances surrounding the drug's manufacture, said Zhang Jixiang, a spokesperson for the administration.

Purchasers of the Quqiar made propylene glycol, a component in Armillarisin A, failed to check the necessary certificates of the Taixing Chemical Company last September, Zhang said, adding that the drugmaker didn't send workers for spot checks either.

Wang Guiping, a Jiangsu Province farmer, sold at least 1 ton of diethylene glycol from the Jiangsu chemical factory as propylene glycol to the Qiqihar drugmaker, the official told reporters.

Zhang said authorities have begun tracing the origin of Wang's diethylene glycol. Wang is in police custody in Jiangsu.

In 1937, a Tennessee-based drugmaker mixed the same chemical into medication, which led to serious kidney failure in its users, killing 107 and injuring another 251.

The Qiqihar No. 2 Pharmaceutical Co Ltd in Heilongjiang Province failed to recognize or test the substituted ingredient, which then made it into batches of Armillarisin.

The pharmaceutical company used fake drug licenses when they sold the drug across the country, Zhang said.

The administration is investigating whether the company made similar violations when producing and selling other pharmaceutical products. The drugmaker produces more than 130 types of medications.

Chinese story link

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Death toll from fake drug rises to 5

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