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A report in the Chinese newspaper Economic Information Daily says that the Chinese SFDA (State Food and Drug Administration) has been conducting a review of Chinese clinical trial practices, and after reviewing 1,622 trials has found that most of them are seriously flawed. And by "seriously flawed", they mean "largely faked". The story says that "More than 80 percent of applications for mass production of new drugs have been canceled in the light of the findings, with officials warning that further evidence malpractice could still emerge in the scandal."

According to the SFDA report, much of the data gathered during clinical trials were incomplete, failed to meet analysis requirements or were untraceable, the paper cited a source in the agency as saying.

It said some companies were suspected of deliberately hiding or deleting records of adverse effects, and tampering with data that did not meet expectations.

[...] Public safety problems in China aren't limited to the pharmaceutical industry and the figure of 80 percent is unlikely to surprise many in a country where citizens routinely engage in the bulk-buying of overseas-made goods like infant formula powder.

Guangdong-based rights activist Mai Ke said there is an all-pervasive culture of fakery across all products made in the country.

"It's not just the medicines," Mai said. "In China, everything is fake, and if there's a profit in pharmaceuticals, then someone's going to fake them too."