China encourages voluntary drug recalls

China's State Food and Drug Administration has introduced a new safety system, designed to encourage drugmakers to recall compromized products voluntarily. Under the regulatory arrangements published by the agency, firms that remove unsafe drugs from the market in a timely manner will benefit from reduced administrative sanctions, including exemption from punishment in some cases, according to the Xinhua news agency.

Yan Jiangying, a spokeswoman for the SFDA, said: "the new recall methods emphasize the primary responsibility of pharmaceutical manufacturers in drug safety."

As a deterrent against firms that choose to ignore an opportunity to withdraw a drug from the market that is known to have problems, the SFDA said that manufacturing licenses could be suspended. The regulation classifies three levels of recall procedure, ranging from dangerous drugs which must be removed within 24 hours, to problems such as improper packaging, which may not involve safety, where three days are allowed.