Four held in fake diabetes drug case

Police in Shandong province seized four people accused of providing packaging for a fake diabetes drug that killed two patients and hospitalized nine others, local officials said yesterday.

The drug, sold under the brand "Tang Zhi Ning Jiao Nang", was found to contain six times the normal dose of glibenclamide, a chemical used to help lower blood sugar. Taking a dosage this size is potentially fatal. Two patients in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region died after taking the drug in January.

The suspects were all executives with Tai'an Zhongxin Lingzhi Technology and Development Co Ltd. based in Tai'an city, said a local public security bureau spokesman who requested anonymity.