On 31 October, China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) announced a halt to the import, sale and use of GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd.’s Avodart (dutasteride) in the country. The move was due to what the regulator saw as “inadequate” inspections and contamination risk related to the 5-alpha reductase inhibitor, which is indicated for benign prostatic hyperplasia.
China Suspends GSK Tender Qualification Under Dutasteride Ban
GSK becomes the second foreign pharma firm in recent months to be hit with a ban on the import, sale and use of a product by increasingly assertive Chinese regulatory authorities.
