Chinese drug firm fined for safety failures

Health regulators in China's Chongqing province has fined Southwest Synthetic Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, a local drug manufacturer, 150,000 renminbi ($19,350) and requested that the local authority close down the plant for safety failures which are blamed for four deaths from lung cancer among the firm's former employees within the past year.

The move came after the central government Ministry of Health ordered provincial agencies to inspect all production facilities for ketoprofen, an antiarthritic drug, as part of a concerted effort to improve drug safety (Marketletters passim). According to the Shanghai Daily newspaper, Southwest Synthetic ignored health bureau supervisors' suggestions and failed to warn its employees of health and safety risks.