More than 370,000 Seirogan Toi-A anti-diarrhea tablets imported from Japan are being recalled, as the drug’s active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing procedures are not aligned with the originally approved ones, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said, as it urged people not to use drugs arbitrarily.
The FDA on Tuesday afternoon said that on Tuesday last week it received a notification from Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), saying that the API phellodendron bark extract used in 22 batches was manufactured using methods that were different from what had originally been registered and approved.
The FDA said that the PMDA asked the drug companies to recall the 22 batches, including one batch of Seirogan Toi-A anti-diarrhea tablets exported to Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration
The Seirogan Toi-A tablets are imported by Taiwan Taiko Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, and are used for the treatment of mild or moderate acute diarrhea and abnormal movement of the intestinal tract. They include three main APIs, including dried phellodendron bark extract.
The FDA said it issued a notice on Wednesday last week recalling the Seirogan Toi-A tablets from batch No. 41RM2, consisting of 374,328 tablets packaged as 24 tablets per box (4,437 boxes) and 36 tablets per box (7,440 boxes).
Hospitals and pharmacies have been informed to stop providing tablets from the batch, while Taiwan Taiko Pharmaceutical Co has been asked to recall the batch before Oct. 27, and to submit a report on its recall results and its follow-up preventive measures, the FDA said.
Meanwhile, the FDA yesterday urged people not to use drugs arbitrarily, saying that they are not a general commodity that can be casually acquired and used.
FDA Medical Products Division deputy head Wu Ming-mei (吳明美) said that some people are used to purchasing drugs on their own when ill, and sometimes friends and family provide leftover drugs from a previous illness.
There are also counterfeit or illegal drugs being sold on online platforms that are often delivered from other countries, she said, adding that according to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (藥事法), offenders that manufacture or import fake or illegal drugs could face up to 10 years in prison or a fine up to NT$100 million (US$3.09 million).
FDA Medical Products Division senior specialist Yang Bo-wen (楊博文) said the agency suggests that people avoid improper drug use including believing in other people’s recommendations about the miraculous effects of certain drugs, and instead to seek medical attention or ask a pharmacist.
People should avoid buying drugs from unknown sources and drugs that are not prescribed by doctors, Yang said, adding that they should avoid discontinuing use of prescription drugs on their own; sharing drugs with other people; and hoarding leftover ones.
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, was arrested in Boston last month amid US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday. The arrest of Liou was first made public on the official Web site of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday. ICE said Liou was apprehended for overstaying her visa. The Boston Field Office’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) had arrested Liou, a “fugitive, criminal alien wanted for embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes in Taiwan,” ICE said. Liou was taken into custody
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TAIWAN ADVOCATES: The resolution, which called for the recognition of Taiwan as a country and normalized relations, was supported by 22 Republican representatives Two US representatives on Thursday reintroduced a resolution calling for the US to end its “one China” policy, resume formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan and negotiate a bilateral Taiwan-US free trade agreement. Republican US representatives Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania’s 10th District were backed by 22 Republican members of the US House of Representatives. The two congressmen first introduced the resolution together in 2021. The resolution called on US President Donald Trump to “abandon the antiquated ‘one China’ policy in favor of a policy that recognizes the objective reality that Taiwan is an independent country, not
The US-Japan joint statement released on Friday not mentioning the “one China” policy might be a sign that US President Donald Trump intends to decouple US-China relations from Taiwan, a Taiwanese academic said. Following Trump’s meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday, the US and Japan issued a joint statement where they reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Trump has not personally brought up the “one China” policy in more than a year, National Taiwan University Department of Political Science Associate Professor Chen Shih-min (陳世民)
RSS