Man charged over unlicensed cancer drugs
Shanghai Daily, June 19, 2014
A man alleged to have sold unlicensed anti-cancer drugs has been charged with conducting an illegal business, Shanghai Minhang District Prosecutors' Office said yesterday.
Made in India, the brands involved included Bayer's Nexavar, Roche's Tarceva, AstraZeneca's Iressa and Norvartis' Glivec.
The Indian drugs cost a fraction of the price of certified products.
Prosecutors said the accused, a 32-year-old surnamed Yu, was running an illegal business and selling unlicensed drugs.
According to prosecutors, Yu became involved in the trade after his father was diagnosed with lung cancer.
Yu searched for information online and bought six bottles of Iressa for 7,000 yuan (US$1,123) to give to his father.
However, Yu was told that his father was to undergo surgery and would therefore no longer need the medication.
Yu offered the drugs for sale online and quickly sold them.
Afterward, he discovered that Indian anti-cancer drugs were much cheaper and bought supplies from Indian sources to sell at his online store, claim prosecutors.
Between September 2013 and March 2014 Yu made 72,745 yuan (US$11,639) from his business.
Under Chinese law, any unlicensed drugs that are traded in the country are regarded as being fake products.
