China’s Drug Evaluation Center Curtails Public Data Access Amid Generic Medications Scandal; Whistleblower Deletes Weibo Account

After several doctors voiced concerns about the poor quality of domestically produced generic medications included in China’s national health-care plan—and after online sleuths found numerous examples of data fraud in clinical trials for generic drugs in China—China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has responded by claiming that the data irregularities were simply “editing errors” that have now been corrected. This was followed by public access to the data on generics from NMPA’s Center for Drug Evaluation being blocked.

Some online commentators have compared this latest data-blocking tactic to those used by Chinese authorities in the past. For example, in July 2024, public access to a tanker-truck tracking app was suspended after investigative reports revealed that cooking oil was being transported in fuel-oil tanker trucks that were not washed between transports. And in August 2023, the government suspended the publication of data showing soaring levels of youth unemployment; public access to the data was eventually reinstated, but only after the government altered the way youth unemployment was calculated, resulting in rosier figures.

Recent changes to China’s centralized procurement system for medications have led to a shift toward cheaper, domestically produced generics, and away from more expensive brand-name imported medications. But some of these inexpensive generics appear to be much less effective than the brand-name medications, or carry a greater risk of allergic reactions and other complications.

The data fraud was described in a (later deleted) social media post by Dr. Xia Zhimin, a BlueSky thread from Air-Moving Device, and by some science bloggers and online sleuths who dived into the online data before public downloads of it were blocked. Prefacing his analysis of the data on generics, science blogger Xiang Dongliang warned readers that the article might get his popular “Basic Common Sense” WeChat account shut down: "Dear readers, this could well be the last article from Basic Common Sense. I’m fully aware that I am touching on numerous and very powerful interests, and I’m also fully aware of the consequences of revealing this information. But there is nothing else for it—I’m bound by duty." Later, in a follow-up post to his BlueSky thread, Air-Moving Device noted: “I do want to point out that I’m in no way against centralized, based procurement and generics. In fact, I think they’re fundamentally a great idea for patients, given that their safety and effectiveness are demonstrated with rigorous testing and proper regulatory oversight.”

CDT Chinese editors have archived over a dozen recent articles related to quality concerns over generic and bulk-purchased medications; the narrowing of patient and doctor choice in prescribing medications; and the ad hominem attacks often aimed at Chinese medical experts who voice concerns about pharmaceutical quality and public safety. Dr. Zheng Minhua (director of the Department of General Surgery at Shanghai Ruijin Hospital), Dr. Hu Weiguo (deputy director of Ruijin Hospital), and 20 other medical experts issued a joint statement pointing out that there are problems with some bulk-purchased generic drugs, such as "anesthesia that does not put patients to sleep, blood-pressure medication that does not lower blood pressure, and laxatives that do nothing to relieve constipation." These experts called for greater protections of patients’ rights to choose which medications they will be prescribed, and suggested the need for further improvements to the government’s centralized procurement system for medications.

An article from abovementioned science blogger and commentator Xiang Dongliang, titled “Protect Dr. Zheng Minhua,” criticized the online troll attacks that recently prompted Dr. Zheng to delete his Weibo account. Xiang compares these to previous attacks against infectious disease expert Dr. Zhang Wenhong, whose outspokenness during the COVID pandemic was appreciated by the public, but sometimes put him at odds with Chinese government authorities:

When they can’t solve the problem, they target the people who pointed out the problem. And when they can’t cow those courageous people who possess expert knowledge and experience, they release their attack dogs and launch ad hominem attacks [against the whistleblowers].

These are the usual dirty tricks of shameless people and their legions of flunkies.

The courageous Dr. Zheng Minhua is now facing just such a barrage of intolerable attacks on his character.

Overwhelmed by these rabid attacks and disparagement, Dr. Zheng has shut down his Weibo account.

I will not repeat the slanderous attacks being made against Dr. Zheng. They all follow the same tired formula; they all carry the same familiar stench.

[…] We have witnessed too many of these brazen, ad hominem attacks in recent years.

There were some who disagreed with Dr. Zhang Wenhong’s views on pandemic prevention and control, but they were stymied by his stature as a leading public-health expert. What are his weaknesses, they asked, and how can we shut him up?

And so they interpreted Dr. Zhang’s suggestion to "eat eggs and milk for breakfast instead of porridge and fried dough-sticks" as "an insult to Chinese food culture" and "slavish pandering to foreign ideas,” and set their attack dogs on him.

Dr. Zhang Wenhong has not made any public statement for the last three years. [Chinese]

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