China launches drug recall system

China launched a nationwide recall system Wednesday that shifts responsibility to companies to recall harmful drugs, a day after U.S. and Chinese officials signed an agreement on the safety of medicine and medical devices. The recall plan will place Chinese-made drugs and imported drugs in three classes according to their possible danger to people’s health, a State Food and Drug Administration official said at a news conference. Each will have to be recalled within different timeframes, ranging from 24 hours for the most serious drugs, to 72 hours for those deemed less life-threatening. The global pharmaceutical industry increasingly uses drugs either made or containing ingredients sourced in China. That has put more attention on China to restore confidence in its manufacturing capabilities after a series of products were found to contain poisonous substances earlier in the summer. The agreement covers 10 exports to the U.S., and eight products the Chinese want to import. This is just a sliver of China’s health-related exports to the U.S. but the list may be expanded, China’s State Food and Drug Administration Deputy Director said.

Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5joaNLMzxF92DLMMPf57gAJTkG94QD8TFT1C80