China: Drug Safety Drive Showing Results

China's campaign to make its drugs safer is showing results, its food and drug administration said Monday, with over 7,300 pharmaceutical companies withdrawing applications for drug approval under new rules.

The State Food and Drug Administration also said it is working to restore its reputation after its previous head was executed this summer on charges he took bribes to approve untested medications.

As part of a crackdown on violations by pharmaceutical companies, it has improved drug registration, and boosted checks on manufacturing and marketing of drugs, the agency said.

"The withdrawals have shown that the pharmaceutical companies are examining themselves in this special campaign and their awareness for drug safety has been greatly enhanced," Wu Zhen, deputy commissioner of the State Food and Drug Administration, told a news conference.

The 7,300 withdrawn applications account for 24 percent of those investigated.

A nationwide campaign to regulate the drug market was started in July.

About 180 drugs have been banned from sale due to false advertisements, Wu said, and 300 drug and medical device manufacturers have been shut down for bad-quality products.

But the problem of fake drugs in China is still a sizable one, with 1,100 drugs that were approved later found to have problems. Hundreds of illegal manufacturing sites have also been busted, the administration said in a statement.

Wu said China has exercised "stringent management" of its pharmaceutical exports, with only approved companies being allowed to export their products. He said any export problems lie with the importers who do not have strict enough rules and regulations.

The agency is also trying to promote proper drug use, it said, by increasing public awareness of how to take drugs. Drugs are widely overprescribed in China's predominantly privatized health system.