Drugs Judged Harmful in Advanced Nations Still Circulating in Korea

Following the recent decision to suspend sales of 166 drugs for colds with phenylpropanolamine (PPA), which can cause strokes, shockwaves are resounding across the nation as the government admitted that several medicines with ingredients judged to be harmful in advanced nations are still being sold within the nation.

It seems that the revelation of the government’s negligence to act on the distribution of yet another drug suspected to be harmful, on the top of its late action against medicine with PPA, will add to the public’s anger.

On the morning of August 5 at a meeting between the ruling Uri Party and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Korea Food and Drug Association “admitted it was true that medicine containing ingredients like PPA, harmful according to the standard of advanced nations such as the U.S., though their harmful effects have yet to be proved, are still in circulation within the nation, as the Uri Party claimed,” according to Uri Party member Lee Mok-hee.

Lee added, “KFDA will explain to the public in detail about the drugs in question after thorough investigations. If the products are found to be harmful through clinical research, sales can be suspended immediately.” Regarding the issue, the party and the government agency, in fear of causing turmoil within the public, did not reveal the products with the suspicious materials and only disclosed some of the suspected components such as “sulpyrine” and “ampoule injection materials.”

However, in a press release issued this day, the Korea Consumer Protection Board and Ko Kyung-hwa, a GNP lawmaker on the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee, pointed out that medicines containing terpenadine, pemoline, nandrolone, metamizol sodium, nefazodone, and naftidro-furyl infusion were also available in the market unlike the U.S. It has become known that the Korea Consumer Protection Board alerted the KFDA of these facts in May, but the administration dismissed the warnings saying, “All medicines come with potentially harmful effects.”

Meanwhile, the Uri Party cited there was a fundamental problem with the KFDA’s drug management system and pushed for the introduction of the Drug Utilization Review, which identifies drugs which may show adverse effects when used with other drugs, and for the systemization of a drug recall system.

Seung-Heon Lee ddr@donga.com