CRI听力:Capsule Scandal Exposes Loopholes in Drug Quality Control

Ru Ao, a small town dubbed the "hometown of capsules" in eastern China's Zhejiang Province has been found to be home to dozens of substandard drug capsule makers.

The plants, which together produce 100 billion capsule grains of medication each year, supply one-third of all of China's capsule drugs.

But when the capsules reach pharmacy counters, they are not expected to help cure those who buy them. Instead, the materials they are made from could pose grave health risks ranging from digestive disorders to internal organ failure.

The alarm has caused many people to panic.

Cao Lina is a resident of Shanghai.

"It's really kind of scary. Everybody gets sick sometimes. Such an issue would definitely involve everyone."

Experts estimate that capsule drugs now account for nearly one-fifth of all medicines taken orally in China.

Capsules are not only useful in preventing the sometimes strong and unpleasant taste of certain drugs. They are also useful in helping drugs maintain their effectiveness and stability by protecting them from exposure to external elements such as the sun.

Yin Lifang, an advisory expert with the State Food and Drug Administration, says its time that drug quality supervision took aim at raw materials and related drug products in addition to medical substances.

"Drug quality control has been quite strict on end products. We examine all the quantities and qualities of medical substances inside the capsules. But somehow we have left out instrumental materials like the capsules themselves. That's a loophole, and we certainly need to address it."

Another expert, Professor Wu Zhenghong from the China Pharmaceutical University in Nanjing, says even for established practices, there is still space for improvement.

"I should say the pharmacy supply as an industry needs to enhance its self-discipline. But more than that, administrative measures should also work more effectively. The current practice of giving notice to the plants prior to inspections allows those plants to prepare particularly for a spell of intense inspection. But to make it really effective, inspectors should make random inspection tours to strike those tricky companies when they are off guard."

In addition to calling off the sales and use of the capsule drugs in question, the State Food and Drug Administration also has urged local governments to conduct thorough investigations into capsule makers involved in the scandal.

Two of the capsule plants in Ru Ao have already been shut down.

Four plant owners among the many people responsible are now in police custody with further investigations still underway.

For CRI, this is Su Yi.