Chinese authorities broke up more than 1,800 dens that made or sold counterfeit drugs in cases that involved 3.35 billion yuan ($530 million) in a two-year crackdown, according to the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA).

During the campaign, 13 government departments mobilized more than one million law enforcement workers to combat the sale of fake drugs via online advertising or consignment, seizing more than 5,000 kinds of illegal products, said SFDA deputy head Bian Zhenjia Thursday at a meeting.

According to Bian, the action also targeted malpractice during the manufacturing process as well as selling non-pharmaceutical products as drugs.

In the operation, authorities conducted more than 28,000 on-site inspections in medicine production factories and halted the production of 98 varieties of drugs, Bian said.

However, Bian noted that problems still exist, including rampant illegal drug advertising and online sales of fake drugs, improper manufacturing practices and outdated laws and regulations concerning drug safety.

Bian said the SFDA will continue to cooperate with other government departments and step up supervision and crackdowns on the online sale of fake drugs.

(Xinhua News Agency December 29, 2011)