The country's top disciplinary department is probing bribery allegations against former State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) chief Zheng Xiaoyu, Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday.

Zheng, 63, was removed from his post on June 22 in 2005 after being accused of taking bribes during his eight years in office as China's top drug watchdog, Xinhua quoted the China Business Post as having said.

Zheng was detained on December 22, three days before a Political Bureau of CPC meeting heard the annual work report of the Central Committee for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the Party's top corruption watchdog.

Zheng's "exposure" comes after several of his former subordinates were held last year for taking bribes.

Hao Heping, 58, former director of SFDA's medical equipment department, was arrested just a couple weeks before Zheng's detention, and sentenced to 15 years in jail and fined 200,000 yuan ($25,611) last November.

Cao Wenzhuang, 44, former director of SFDA's drug registration department, was put under investigation in January of 2006. Both had worked as Zheng's secretary, and Cao's confession reportedly led to Zheng's exposure.

Zheng became SFDA director in 1998, the year the agency was launched. He was responsible for promoting a certification system for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).

National standard

In 2002, China adopted a single national standard for drugs to replace all the local ones, which meant most of the medicines had to be approved by the SFDA before entering the market.

The change not only gave more power to the SFDA, but also bred rampant covet operations. As a result, many pharmaceutical companies bribed SFDA officials to get their low-quality medicines approved.

The chaos that SFDA's drug management created in the country put the administration under scrutiny.

In 2004, the SFDA received applications for 10,009 new medicines, a year when the Food and Drug Administration of the United States accepted just 148 new medicines.

Most of the companies have presented old drugs in new labels and names to the SFDA to be registered as new medicines.

Fake or sub-standard drugs have killed dozens of people in China in recent years. Public fear grew in 2004 when at least 13 babies died of malnutrition in East China's Anhui Province because the milk powder they were fed had no nutritional value.

In July last year, China fined Qiqihar No 2 Pharmaceutical Co and revoked its license after its drug meant to treat gastric disorders killed 11 people.

In October, the drug watchdog ordered an Anhui company to stop producing antibiotic injections and sacked its top managers after the drug was linked to at least 10 deaths.

To regulate drug management, China made its pharmaceutical industry one of the six key sectors that needed to be freed of corruption.

China Daily

(China Daily 01/08/2007 page3)