China, U.S. Drug Pact Addresses U.S. Security Issues (China)
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
U.S. concerns about the safety of drugs imported from China have as much to do with U.S. national security issues as with the safety of the medicines themselves. As an example, China and India are the only sources of key ingredients for two antibiotics considered the only ones suited to treat anthrax if an attack on the U.S. leaves the country short of supplies. The main component of anti-anthrax treatments, doxycycline, is made only in China. But drug-oversight scandals in China, which led to the execution of an official of the State FDA that oversees a $65 billion pharmaceutical industry, are seen as potential problems for the United States. (Click here for more ) "China's Monopoly On Pharmaceuticals Raises U.S., Europe Security Concerns" Taiwan News (12/10/07)