PLA names bogus military medical bodies selling fake drugs

China's armed forces health department on Thursday published a list of 16 bogus military medical institutions advertising fake drugs, in the latest attempt to crack down on drugs fraud.

"These bogus military institutions advertised fake drugs in newspapers, magazines and on websites, posing a serious threat to public health and to the image of the People's Liberation Army," said the Health Department of the PLA General Logistics Department.

These bogus institutions include: the so-called PLA Life Sciences Genes Engineering Institute, the PLA Genetics Institute, the PLA Air Force Genes Medical Institute, the PLA Dermatology Genes Research Center, the PLA TCM Institute Dermatology Department, the PLA Medical Institute Cardiology Research Center, the PLA Life Sciences Institute Rheumatism Research Center, the PLA General Logistics Hospital Dermatology Institute, the PLA Genetic Sciences Institute, the PLA Biomedical Institute Diabetes Research Center and Cardiology Research Center, the PLA Life Medicines and Pathology Institute Diabetes Research Center, the PLA Research Center for Difficult Diseases, China Genetic Pharmaceutical Research Base Diabetes Hospital and the PLA Hongyu Pharmaceutical Factory.

Military medical institutions were prohibited from advertising any drugs by law. "All drugs ads in the name of military institutions are fraudulent," the department said.

Drugs sold by these bogus military medical bodies usually focus on diabetes, cardiological diseases, dermatosis and sexually transimitted diseases. They make use of the patients eagerness to cure these diseases and always claim to be effective and magical.

The PLA health department and State Post Bureau have jointly issued an order banning military medical institutions setting up post boxes in order to block channels for mail-order fake drugs.

In May, seven people were arrested and forged subscriptions, seals, receipts and drug labels purporting to come from military medical institutions were seized in Beijing. Fake drugs worth of 150,000 yuan (18,750 U.S. dollars) were confiscated in the largest such case of fraud yet.

One of the fake drugs that claimed to cure cardiological diseases were sold at 780 yuan (98 U.S. dollars) which experts say the cost was only worth 10 yuan (1.25 U.S. dollars).

The PLA General Logistics Department uncovered 98 medical fraud of bogus military medical bodies in 2005, and 67 so far this year.

Source: Xinhua