Chinese police said Sunday they seized more than $182 million of counterfeit pharmaceuticals last month in the latest attempt to clean up a food and drug market that has been flooded with fakes. |
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中国警方周日说,上月缴获了价值11.6亿元的假冒伪劣药品,这是中国政府试图整顿本国假冒产品泛滥的食品药品市场的最新行动。 |
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Around 18,000 police across the country detained nearly 2,000 suspects, China's public security ministry said in a statement Sunday. The detentions and seizures, which occurred in late July but were announced Sunday, included drugs that are typically sold on the regulated market for patients with diabetes, high blood pressure and even rabies, the statement said, noting that the counterfeit drugs likely contained harmful, toxic substances. |
中国公安部周日发表公告说,调集全国约1.8万名警力,共逮捕了近2,000名嫌疑人。公告说,缴获的假药中包括那些通常在受管制市场上出售的针对糖尿病、高血压甚至是狂犬病等患者的药品,并且指出这些假药中可能含有有害、有毒物质。这次打击行动发生在7月底,但8月5日才公布。 |
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It wasn't clear from the statement whether the drugs were meant for the domestic or international market. |
公告没有明确表示,这些假药是销往国内还是国际市场。 |
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China's government frequently reports detentions and seizures to demonstrate its dedication to overhauling the country's scandal-ridden food and drug markets, which threaten public trust and social stability. While this crackdown is one of the largest in recent months, in November 2011 authorities said they seized $30 million worth of counterfeit drugs and arrested 114 suspects. |
中国政府经常称,抓获了造假嫌疑人并缴获了假冒产品,以此显示自己整顿本国丑闻不断的食品药品市场的决心。食品和药品安全不仅威胁着民众对政府的信任,也危及社会稳定。这次打击行动是近几个月来规模最大的行动之一。2011年11月,中国有关部门说缴获了价值3,000万美元的假药,逮捕了114名嫌疑人。 |
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China is one of the world's largest producers of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, according to a report by the London-based International Policy Network, a think tank that focuses in part on pharmaceutical issues. Some counterfeit drug ingredients have in the past been exported for use overseas. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration found that many Chinese drug suppliers provided contaminated ingredients for the blood thinner heparin, which in 2008 led to the deaths of 80 people and the allergic reactions of hundreds of others in the U.S. |
伦敦智库国际政策网(International Policy Network)的报告显示,中国是世界上最大的假药生产国之一。这个智库的研究重点之一就是药品问题。一些伪劣药物成分曾从中国出口海外。美国食品药品监督管理局(U.S. Food and Drug Administration)曾发现,很多中国药品供应商对血液稀释剂“肝素”提供过受污染的药物成分,此事导致美国2008年80人死亡,数百人产生了过敏反应。 |
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Chinese officials are trying to protect the pharmaceutical market, as China's own universities and pharmaceutical companies are investing in the development of future drugs. Foreign companies such as Roche Holding AG ROG.VX +0.06% and Pfizer Inc. PFE +1.51% also have invested heavily in the country over the past few years. |
随着中国高等院校和本土制药公司投资于未来药物的发展,中国官员正在努力保护国内医药市场。罗氏公司(Roche Holding AG)和辉瑞制药有限公司(Pfizer Inc.)等外国企业过去几年也在中国大举投资。 |
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Sales of pharmaceuticals in China are expected to hit $115 billion by 2015, nearly tripling from $42 billion in 2010, according to data from market researcher IMS Health. |
据市场研究机构艾美仕(IMS Health)统计,预计到2015年中国市场的医药销售额将达到1,150亿美元,相比2010年的420亿美元将增加近两倍。 |
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Drug sales have become a problem spot in China recently. Many provinces across the country have created bidding systems in which drug companies win hospital and pharmaceutical contracts by promising quality drugs at the lowest prices, pressuring drug manufacturers to produce at the lowest cost possible while preserving their profits. |
医药销售近来在中国成了一个热点问题。很多省份都制定了医药招标系统,制药公司首先要承诺自己的产品质量合格,然后价格最低者才能赢得医院等的药物合同。这就给制造公司带来了压力:在维持利润的同时要以最低成本进行生产。 |
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The price squeeze has had unintended consequences, people in the industry say. In April, China's drug regulator suspended the sale of 13 drugs using capsules allegedly made with excessive chromium levels. The capsules were made from leather scraps containing industrial gelatin that uses chromium as part of the tanning process, according to China's state-run China Central Television. |
业内人士说,这种价格压力带来了始料未及的副作用。今年4月,中国药品监管机构叫停了13种胶囊药物的销售,据称,这些胶囊含铬量超标。据中国国有电视台中央电视台(China Central Television)报道,这些胶囊是用含有工业明胶的皮革下脚料生产的,制革厂在鞣制皮革时要使用含铬的化学制剂。 |
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Public security officials are aware of the problem. 'The crime of making fake drugs is still far from eradicated, and criminals are coming up with new schemes, becoming craftier and better able to deceive,' the public security statement said.
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中国公安部官员已经意识到了这个问题。中国公安部的这则公告说,假药犯罪远未根除,犯罪手法也出现新的特点,隐蔽性、欺骗性更强。
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