Diabetes tests and the China connection
Fake at-home test kits used in many countries but none detected in
S'pore
NEW YORK Even as China is still counting the costs resulting from
Mattel's recall of China-made toys, yet another consumer scandal
has come to light. This time, Johnson & Johnson has tracked to
China counterfeit versions of an at-home diabetes test widely used
in many countries to take sensitive measurements of blood-sugar
levels.
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According to court documents in New York, some one million fake
OneTouch Test Strips, originating from China, have turned up in at
least 35 American states and in Canada, Greece, India, Pakistan,
the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, reported Bloomberg.
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In Singapore, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) told Today that
while these test strips are available here, no counterfeit test
strips have been detected in Singapore so far.
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It also advises consumers to buy the products from pharmacies or
authorised retailers. According to the HSA, it has been in contact
with Johnson & Johnson since the alert on the counterfeit
products last year.
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That was around the time when potentially dangerous copies of the
OneTouch Test Strip, sold by J&J's LifeScan unit, surfaced in
American and Canadian pharmacies, according to US federal court
documents unsealed in June this year.
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J&J, the world's largest consumer-health products maker based
in New Jersey, learned of the counterfeit tests after 15 patients
complained of faulty results last September.
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Tipped off by J&J, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
issued a nationwide consumer alert in October without disclosing
the link to China. While no injuries were reported, inaccurate test
readings may lead a diabetic to inject the wrong amount of insulin,
causing harm or death, the agency said.
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Fake medicines are a US$32 billion ($49 billion) global business,
according to the World Health Organization. The FDA said it
conducted 54 counterfeit investigations in 2006, almost double of
those done the year before.
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"Growth in counterfeit medicines and devices is probably the
biggest health threat besides infectious disease," said Mr Peter
Pitts, director of the Center for Medicines in the Public Interest
in New York.
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The China connection came to light only after the court papers were
made public.
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"The source was from China, through Canada, to the United States,"
said Mr Steven Gutman, director of the Office of In Vitro
Diagnostic Devices and Evaluation at the FDA in Maryland. "As far
as we can tell, the counterfeiter has been put out of business in
the US."
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The court documents reveal, also for the first time, a worldwide
distribution chain discovered in the past year by investigators
hired by Johnson & Johnson. The trail, initiated by consumer
complaints to a LifeScan hotline, first led detectives to 700
pharmacies where the products were sold, then to eight US
wholesalers and then to two importers, one in Las Vegas and another
in Canada.
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Records seized from the importers show the counterfeit strips were
bought from Henry Fu and his company, Halson Pharmaceutical, which
according to its Internet site is based in Shanghai.
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Halson's website says the company distributes and manufactures
medical supplies, such as syringes, and is run by Fu, who is also
known as Su Zhi Yong.
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Fu was arrested by the Chinese authorities and remains in prison in
China, awaiting resolution of his case in the Peoples' Court of
Shanghai, reported Bloomberg.
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China, the biggest exporter of consumer products, has created a
series of worldwide consumer scares this year ranging from
contaminated toothpaste to drug-tainted seafood. The communist
country executed its former chief drug regulator last month for
taking bribes and the nation said it will take five years to stamp
out counterfeiting.
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Earlier this week, Mattel Inc, the world's biggest toymaker, said
it is recalling 18.2 million China-made Barbie dolls and other
products with magnets children risk swallowing.
Fake at-home test kits used in many countries but none detected in
S'pore