Chinese company denies carcinogenic ingredient claims
Traditional medicine based on ancient ingredient mix, company says
Traditional Chinese medicine manufacturer Hunan Hansen Pharmaceutical has denied newspaper claims that its top-selling Simotang Koufuye medicine contained a carcinogen – namely betel nut extract – but had to suspend sales of its shares on Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The medicine generated US$54m in sales in 2012, according to Chinese language news reports.
Central China’s Hunan Hansen was contesting claims in China’s National Business Daily that it had endangered patients by using the extract and being insufficiently clear about its presence. A Hunan Hansen statement argued the medicine was ‘very safe’ and it used only nut elements that stimulate intestinal muscles. It also stressed that the drug had passed toxicity tests staged by China’s State Food and Drug Administration.
‘So far no cancer case related to Simotang Koufuye has been reported,’ said the statement, which added the medicine was based on an ingredient mix dating back to the Ming dynasty (which fell in 1644).
