Corruption Probed At China’s FDA

A senior official at China’s State Food & Drug Administration has been suspended from his duties for suspected corruption. China’s state media reported that Zhang Jingli, one of the agency’s four deputy commissioners, is under investigation for “disciplinary violations,” a phrase that usually means accepting bribes. Several senior SFDA officials have been involved in corruption cases in recent years. In 2007, Zheng Xiaoyu, the director of the agency, was executed for approving unsafe drugs in exchange for kickbacks (C&EN, July 16, 2007, page 9). In April of this year, state media reported that five drug safety officials, mostly responsible for vaccines, had been arrested for taking bribes.