Five people related to a lethal fake medicine that killed 13
patients last year went on trial in a Chinese court in the southern
city of Guangzhou on Wednesday.
Prosecutors said the five people, all from the Qiqihar No. 2
Pharmaceutical Co. of Heilongjiang Province, are responsible for
allowing diglycol, a lethal chemical that can cause kidney failure,
to be used in the production of Armillarisin A, a medicine to treat
liver and gallbladder diseases.
The five suspects include Yin Jiade, the company's general
manager, Zhu Chuanhua and Guo Xingping, two deputy managers, Chen
Guifen, director of the company's laboratory test department, and
Niu Zhongren, a medicine procurator.
Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court heard that Niu bought a
ton of diglycol in September, 2005 from Wang Guiping, a drug dealer
in Taixing of Jiangsu Province to manufacture the
Armillarisin A drops.
In April, 2006, the drops were administered in the form of
injections to 15 patients in a hospital in Guangzhou. Thirteen died
after suffering kidney failure and the drops also exacerbated
symptoms of two other patients.
The court said Wang, the dealer who forged production documents
and sold the deadly chemical to Niu, will be tried separately.
It heard that before buying the chemical, Niu failed to check
Wang's qualifications and did not ask him to provide samples.
The fake chemical later passed the company's laboratory test
conducted by Chen. Chen told the court she found that the test
results of the chemical did not conform to pharmaceutical standards
and "thought the chemical was substandard, but didn't expect it to
be fake or lethal".
The problems were conveyed to the company's upper management but
the managers chose to turn a blind eye, the court heard.
Prosecutors said the company also forged documents to pass the
country's GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) regulations.
The company has been shut down following the fake medicine
incident. Xun Fubo, deputy director of the Food and Drug
Administration of Qiqihar, has been sacked for negligence. Eleven
other officials in the city and province were punished.
The case continues.
(Xinhua News Agency August 9, 2007)