Cancer patients urge release of detained drug agent

Hundreds of Chinese cancer patients sent appeals to the authorities, asking them to release a man who was detained for helping them get foreign-made drugs not approved by the government.

At least 163 liver cancer patients have sent letters to authorities urging the release of Zhai Yiping, 46, who was detained in July for allegedly selling illegal drugs, China Youth Daily reported on Tuesday.

Suffering from cancer, Zhai started purchasing anti-cancer drugs, namely E7080 and PD-1, from Germany in 2016 for him and those in the late stages of cancer. He charged five percent as commission.

Previously, in big hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, Zhai and other patients were told all the hospitals’ treatments were useless.

E7080 and PD-1 have been used for liver cancer in some countries. For instance, E7080 was approved by Japan in March.

In July, the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) approved PD-1 for sale in China, the report said.

However, the CFDA in 2016 did not approve of it, which means the drugs were considered “counterfeit” based on China’s Drug Administration Law.

Liu Changsong, a Beijing lawyer, told the Global Times that China could impose the death penalty for selling or producing “counterfeit drugs,” which is much heavier than selling or producing inferior drugs.

Lu Yong, a leukemia patient, imports and sells less expensive generic anti-cancer drugs from India for chronic myeloid leukemia patients who can’t afford the drug Glivec. Lu doesn’t ask for commissions.

Lu was charged with selling counterfeit drugs in 2014, but prosecutors withdrew the charges in 2015.