AstraZeneca Moves Drug Production to China, Begging Safety Questions for FDA

(MoneyWatch)  AstraZeneca (AZN) will move all its drug production -- of "active pharmaceutical ingredients" -- in the U.K. to China. About 300 jobs in Britain will be lost, The Times reports.

The move is part of a trend: Drug companies with massive Western operations are shutting them down and moving them to China. The unanswered question is, How will the FDA monitor production of drugs destined for the U.S. if all the factories are in China?

Pfizer (PFE) is doing the same thing as AZ. After announcing it will close a New London, Conn., R&D site and consolidate operations at nearby Groton, the company will expand operations in Wuhan, China, where 200 jobs will be added, according to The Day.

Pfizer is also expanding in Shanghai. Novartis (NVS) just announced a $1 billion investment that will create China's largest pharmaceutical research plant yet. And Eli Lilly (LLY), which just axed 5,500 jobs in the U.S., is adding 2,000 in China. Contract drug sales rep firms are ramping up in China to serve those companies.

There has been much less coverage of how the FDA will ensure that drug supplies bound for the U.S. will actually be safe. China has a reputation for adulterated drugs, low quality products, some of which are lethal. As BNET noted last year, the FDA had only 12 inspectors in the country and visited only 80 of 714 drug establishments in China in the previous two years.

Irony alert: Drug companies are enthusiastic about China because -- unlike the U.S.! -- it has reformed its healthcare system to cover more people:

"The enthusiasm is specifically driven by China's three-year ($124.5 billion) medical system reform package that aims to provide more accessible and affordable healthcare to the country's 1.3 billion people," according to China Daily.

• Related:
• Pfizer Expands in China Faster Than the FDA
• Unemployed Drug Reps: "Go East, Young Man (and Women)"
• As Lilly Axes 5,500 Jobs It Adds 2,000 More in China