China's FDA former top official sentenced to death for corruption

 Zheng Xiaoyu, former State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) of China was sentenced to death on charges of corruption and official negligence.

Zheng Xiaoyu was convicted for taking bribes totalling US$848,366 from eight pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies and illegally approving their products. His sentence came after a series of medical scandals in which dozens of people in China died.

Zheng headed the SFDA from its establishment in 1998 until his retirement in 2005.  

Chinese food and drug exports taken several blows in recent weeks.  First it was melamine-laced foods from china killing pets in North America and then cough syrup killed dozens of people in Panama (due to Diethylene glycol). Last week US officials started investigating Chinese tooth paste over fears that it could contain toxic chemicals. 

This is a big blow to Chinese pharmaceutical industry as their reputation on quality products always in question.  This may be good news to Indian Pharmaceutical Industry, which is depending on exports to North American market.