Two more Chinese drugmakers have said that a blood-pressure medication they exported to Taiwan contained a potentially cancer-causing impurity, a month after the same problem at another Chinese manufacturer prompted a global recall.
Tianyu Pharm and Rundu Pharma said batches of valsartan, an active ingredient widely used in medications for high blood pressure and congestive heart failure, contained N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), which is believed to potentially cause cancer through long-term use.
Tianyu Pharm made its announcement yesterday in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, where both companies are listed, while Rundu said the same in an exchange statement on Friday.
Tianyu Pharm said the problem was caught before its valsartan was distributed to end users in Taiwan, while Rundu Pharma said its products made it onto Taiwan’s market, but would be recalled.
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday ordered a recall of 24.21 million tablets of heart medicine valsartan supplied by Zhuhai Rundu Pharmaceutical Co were found to be tainted.
The recall was instigated after it was discovered that Zhuhai’s valsartan contained NDMA.
The four types of medicines affected are the Valsart FC Tab 160mg, Valsart FC Tab 80 mg, Asartan FC Tab 5/80mg and the Valsart-H FC Tablets 80/12.5mg, which is produced by Standard Chem & Pharm Co in Taiwan.
More than 10 million tablets from six types of valsartan medicine supplied by Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals were recalled last month after they were found to be tainted by NDMA.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
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