Investigation has brought to light almost the entire process for the production and sale of a faulty drug made by Qiqihar No 2 Pharmaceutical Company.

The drug has already killed five patients.

The drug contained the wrong chemical, which has been confirmed as the culprit for the deaths.

But it wasn't just the wrong ingredient that's to blame ---- the pursuit of profits may have been the real killer.

With social responsibility and the sole pursuit of economic benefit in conflict, social responsibility was defeated.

The suspect Wang Guiping, who has been detained, is believed to have sold a ton of diethylene glycol to be used in the company's drug under the name of the correct chemical propylene glycol.

To do this, he forged a relevant registration certificate.

The firm's purchaser accepted the wrong chemical simply because of its cheaper price. It seems strange that the firm authorities did not question why this batch of chemicals was cheaper than its average price. If they did, they could have possibly found out that it was the wrong chemical and the disaster could have been prevented in advance.

The lower price of the raw material paved the way for the sale of this particular drug, Armillarisini A, at a competitive price. This faulty drug with a lower price outbid its competitors in Guangzhou for hospital use.

But the fact that patients paid even much more for this medicine suggests that the hospital made more profit from buying the cheaper faulty medicine and selling it to patients for a higher price.

It is unfortunate that the hospital never had any doubt why this drug made by Qiqihar No 2 Pharmaceutical Company could be cheaper than the same kind produced by other firms. The cheaper the price of a drug, the bigger the profit margin for the hospital. And that was the hospital's primary concern.

But there were still more opportunities to block the problematic drug from entering the market.

The chemical purchased could have, and should have, been tested before it was used. But the testing department at the pharmaceutical firm did not check to see if it was indeed the correct ingredient.

It was not just the testers' faults, however. The drug must be inspected for its quality before it is sold as a product. But the inspectors also failed to find out that the wrong chemical had been used.

The negligence on the part of the testers and inspectors has suggested that serious loopholes existed in the firm's production process.

But why was a drug firm with such serious loopholes allowed to make medicine that has a bearing on the health of patients?

We have reason to believe the watchdog of the State Food and Drug Administration and its local branch should be held responsible for neglecting to do their duty.

To prevent the same incident from happening again, an overhaul of all Chinese drug producers is necessary to stop potential problems from developing into disasters.

(China Daily 05/17/2006 page4)