BEIJING: China announced a nationwide crackdown on the sale of illegal medicine yesterday and said it would tighten industry regulation, piling pressure on a sector already reeling from a bribery scandal at British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline.
The State Food and Drug Administration said the six-month campaign would also target illegal online drug sales and the sale of fake traditional Chinese medicine.
“We must resolutely punish illegal acts, expose illegal enterprises, recall problematic products,” Wu Zhen, the agency’s deputy commissioner, said in a statement.
The crackdown comes two days after Chinese police accused GlaxoSmithKline of bribing officials and doctors to boost sales and raise the price of its medicines in China.
Police said GSK transferred up to 3 billion yuan ($489m) to 700 travel agencies and consultancies over six years to facilitate the bribes. In response, GSK said it was deeply concerned by the developments.
A spokesman for China’s Commerce Ministry said authorities would not hold back punishing companies engaged in bribery.
“Whether it’s a domestic or foreign-invested enterprise, once it has violated Chinese law, it will be sanctioned,” Shen Danyang told a news conference.
Widespread counterfeit drugs and false advertising have been a thorn in the side of Chinese regulators for years, and the drug agency has conducted campaigns in the past to crack down.
REUTERS
