China Finds More Fake Diabetes Drug, Suspect Named (Update1)

Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Fake diabetes medication linked to two deaths in China last month has been found in Sichuan province, the provincial drug regulator said, as police issued an arrest warrant for the main suspect in the counterfeiting case.

Health authorities in the southwestern region discovered the sale of 215 bottles of counterfeit “Tang Zhi Ning Jiao Nang” brand diabetes drug, of which 73 have not been recovered, the Sichuan Food and Drug Administration said in a statement on its Web site late yesterday. The agency reported no illnesses or deaths related to the use of the drug.

The Ministry of Public Security today issued a warrant for the arrest of a 38-year-old man identified as Li Dong, born in Zhaoyang city in northern Liaoning province, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said. Li is suspected of organizing sales of the fake medicine across several regions, the report said.

The Ministry of Health issued an urgent alert about the drug on Jan. 30 after two patients who took the medicine in the northwestern province of Xinjiang died on Jan. 17 and 19. China has detained four people in Xinjiang for selling the fake product, according to the State Food and Drug Administration.

The fake medicine contained an illegal ingredient called “glibenclamide” that can be used to lower blood sugar, according to a separate Xinhua report. The counterfeit product has been found to contain six times the normal dose of the chemical, Xinhua said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dune Lawrence in Beijing at dlawrence6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bill Austin at billaustin@bloomberg.net