Xinhua reveals some anti-cancer medicine sold at 1,700 times production cost
Staff Reporter 2013-03-01 10:25
An employee at a pharmaceutical company in Kunming, southwestern China. (Photo/Xinhua)
An investigation by China's official Xinhua news agency has found that a locally manufactured medicine used to treat breast cancer is being sold at 1,700 times its production cost.
One box of the medicine costs the factory where it is produced five yuan (US$0.8), but id sold to patients for as much as 8,500 yuan (US$1,360). The discarded packaging, reportedly made from recycled from garbage bins, is then purchased by the manufacturer from hospital and clinic staff for 700 yuan (US$112) apiece.
The recyclable packaging is collected by medical personnel and hospital cleaning staff. When questioned about the practice of selling the packaging back to the manufacturer, staff explained that no one specifically told them they should not collect medical waste for private sale.
Other investigations have led to the discovery of fake cancer medicines made from raw industrial chemicals which pose a danger to patients beyond their uselessness in treating patients, according to Xinhua.
Official statistics in China show each year over 3 million people are diagnosed with cancer, equivalent to six people diagnosed with cancer every minute.
