Chinese official overseeing medical device sector under investigation for corruption
Tong Min centre of graft probe, government's anti-corruption agency says
China has launched an investigation into a top official who oversees the country’s medical devices sector, a disciplinary watchdog said on Friday, the second healthcare official to be probed this week.
A series of healthcare probes, part of President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on corruption, has thrown an unwelcome spotlight on executives, doctors and officials. Sources this month said the probes had started to spread to the medical devices sector, which includes things like hospital scanners and medical implants.
The authorities are investigating Tong Min, the head of the medical devices supervision unit at China’s food and drug regulator for serious disciplinary violations, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a statement, using a term which usually refers to corruption.
The China Food and Drug Administration declined to immediately comment when contacted by phone. Tong could not be reached for comment.
China’s fast-growing healthcare market, the second largest in the world, has been in the spotlight over the last two years with a far-reaching corruption investigation into the drug sector leading to a near US$500 million fine against British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline last year.
Tong’s unit is responsible for regulating medical device manufacturing and distribution.