Counterfeit batches of Crestor brand lipid-lowering drugs contained ingredients from Chinese pharmaceutical producers, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday after being subjected to a barrage of questions from a lawmaker.
A recall was issued on Tuesday for all of AstraZeneca’s Crestor tablets following a discovery last week that two batches of the drug prescribed to 570,000 National Health Insurance patients were counterfeits made from atorvastatin, a cheaper drug whose patent had expired.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare did not release any information regarding the quantity, distribution or origin of the fake drugs until yesterday, when Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國) grilled Chen on the issue during a legislative session.
Photo: CNA
Following Liu’s questions, Chen said that the fake drugs’ ingredients were mailed from China to Taiwan, but the identity of many individuals involved in their production and distribution remained unknown to authorities.
The ministry is considering sending investigators to China, Chen said, adding that judicial authorities have taken charge of the investigation.
Liu said that the majority of the imported products seized by the Food and Drug Administration at customs offices for being counterfeits or failing to meet safety standards originated in China.
Separately yesterday, Premier Lin Chuan (林全) pledged to comprehensively overhaul the nation’s drug safety standards during a meeting he chaired at the Executive Yuan.
“This incident is a test for our entire medical safety system and especially for the ministry’s agencies responsible for protecting the nation’s drug safety, as it will show whether their work has won the public’s trust,” Lin said. “We must use this opportunity to completely re-evaluate our performance.”
The primary suspect involved in counterfeiting the drug has been apprehended, Lin said, acknowledging the efforts of police, prosecutors and the ministry to hold the suspect accountable.
The government has requested the assistance of the pharmaceutical sector in recalling and replacing the affected products, he added.
The ministry must ensure the complete recovery and destruction of the fake drugs, and it must make information available to avoid an unnecessary panic, Lin said, adding that an inspection of all commonly prescribed and high-value pharmaceuticals would begin immediately.
Lin said the Cabinet would at the earliest opportunity review existing procedures, including those for dealing with fake drugs; tracking the production and distribution of medicines; quality control regulations; hospital inventory inspections; the mechanism for reporting fake drugs; and methods for their disposal.
The government must protect the public’s access to safe medicines that are essential for public health, uphold the nation’s reputation for effective regulation of medical products and restore public confidence in the government, he added.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS