"Most" of the iffy leukemia drugs, methotrexate and cytarabin
hydrochloride, produced by Shanghai Hualian Pharmaceutical Co. have
been recalled, according to the press office of the Shanghai
municipal government.
And relevant agencies have traced the whereabouts of the rest of
the drugs, said the press office on Saturday, adding that local
government has ordered the producer to keep recalling.
China's drug watchdog and the Ministry of Health (MOH) have
suspended the production, sale and usage of the two drugs made by
the Shanghai company on Sept. 5.
The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) and the MOH took
the decision after the National Center for Adverse Drug Reaction
Monitoring reported that the drugs had caused adverse reactions
including difficulty in walking and retention of urine in some
leukemia patients.
Several children suffering from leukemia in three hospitals of
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Shanghai City felt pain in
their legs and some had difficulty in walking after being injected
with the methotrexate drug made by the Shanghai company in early
July.
On Sept. 14, the MOH and the SFDA said in a joint notice that
investigations showed that the incidents happened because
vincristine sulfate, an anti-cancer medicine, has been mistakenly
blended into several batches of the two drugs during
production.
At present, local food and drug bureau has closed down the
factories involved to find out how the mistake was made.
(Xinhua News Agency September 17, 2007)