In early November, the Chinese State Food and Drug Association (SFDA) initiated a joint inspection for drug safety by six government departments. After releasing the Notice on Distributing Special Action Plan for Cracking Down on Violations of Intellectual Property Rights and the Production and Distribution of Fake and Shoddy Products, the SFDA has launched a nationwide program that will be in effect until March of next year. The program is targeted at disreputable products that “upset the market’s normal order,” says the Chinese government’s head drug regulator.
The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Culture, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, the SFDA and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) will execute the joint inspections. In addition to pharmaceutical drugs, consumer goods and artistic products under IPR will be amongst the items under scrutiny.
The inspections will be carried out in the Zhejiang, Shandong and Sichuan provinces, and the Chongqing municipality, as well as eight other provinces over the next two weeks.
According to the SFDA’s statement, the inspection will focus on IPR protection, maintaining a fair market environment, false and misleading advertising, mail-order fake drugs, policy implementation and drug quality standard implementation, as well as other issues.
Pharmaceutical sales and information proliferation online will also be monitored to achieve these goals.