China's food and drug watchdog has revoked the production
licenses of five drug manufacturers since last July.
According to the State Food and Drug Administration, Qiqihar
No.2 Pharmaceutical Factory in northeast China's Heilongjiang
Province made fake drugs that caused four deaths and many users to
have prostrate kidneys.
Guangdong Baiyi Pharmaceutical was reported to make hemoglobin
which was infected by a virus carried by the donator.
The administration revoked the production licenses of the
factories as well as three others in south China's Fujian, central
China's Henan and north China's Hebei Provinces.
The administration has also withdrawn the Good Manufacturing
Practice(GMP) certificates, a symbol of favorable performance in
the whole drug-making process, from 128 drug makers mainly in
Jilin, Henan, Hainan, Sichuan and Anhui provinces.
According to Bian Zhenjia, an official with the administration,
the main task of the watchdog in the last six months of this year
is to increase the number of GMP inspectors in pharmaceutical
factories and monitor the production quality of narcotic drug
makers across the country.
(Xinhua News Agency July 7, 2007)