Chinese drug supervision authorities revoked the business licenses of 160 drug manufacturers and retailers in a bid to clean up the pharmaceutical industry in 2006.

Drug supervision authorities in China inspected pharmaceutical companies across the country over the past year and punished those that had irregular purchase and sale records, advertised illegally, worked beyond their business scope and leased or transferred their licenses without authorization, said Wang Lifeng, director of the Market Supervision Department under the State Food and Drug Administration.

They inspected 3,972 drug wholesalers and 40,152 retailers in 2006. The authorities revoked the Good Sales Practice certificates, a must for the drug manufacturers, of 135 companies.

China is expected to blacklist drug manufacturers and retailers who advertise illegally, provide false information or exaggerate the benefits of their products, said Wang at a conference in Nanchang on Tuesday. The blacklisted companies would be published on the government websites, added Wang.

A survey by the State Food and Drug Administration of 466 newspapers and 55 local TV stations from January to November last year discovered 48,990 illegal advertisements for drug products.

(Xinhua News Agency February 1, 2007)