Multinational pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) was recently blacklisted by the Chinese authorities and will not be eligible for the country’s national drug procurement program for the next one and a half years.
Through the Chinese drug procurement program, pharmaceutical companies participate in a program of centralized drug procurement that supplies drugs at high volumes and low prices.
As first reported by state television CCTV, on Oct. 31 China’s State Drug Administration (SDA) issued a notice stating that GSK’s Avodart (dutasteride) softgels exported to China did not meet China’s quality control requirements for drug manufacturing. The SDA suspended the import, sale, and use of Avodart, with the notice taking effect immediately….