The Ministry of Public Security has announced that it is widening investigation into different problems related to a batch of cancer drugs called H-Capita (500mg).

VN Pharma former chairman and general director is Nguyen Minh Hung at the court.— Photo tienphong.vn

The ministry also announced on Wednesday that it is examining the responsibility of the Drug Administration of Việt Nam (DAVN) and individuals involved.

The 9,000 boxes of H-Capita 500mg were imported by Viet Nam Pharma Enterprise in 2013 without proper proof of origin or quality. The pharmaceutical firm’s former chairman and general director is Nguyen Minh Hung.

According to an indictment, from 2013 to 2014, Hùng ordered Vo Manh Cuong, a director of H&C International Maritime Company, to purchase imported medicines reportedly manufactured by Canada’s Helix Pharmaceuticals Company and supply the drugs to Vietnamese hospitals.

To legalise the distribution of the product, Hung and his accomplices forged importation documents stating that the drug had been manufactured by a company named Helix Canada. The fake documents were then submitted to the DAVN.

An investigation later revealed that Canadian authorities had never licensed Helix to produce medicine.

Earlier, on October 30, the HCM City Supreme People’s Court ordered a re-investigation involving the Investigation Police Department of Economic Crimes and Corruption under the Ministry of Public Security.

The court also decided to continued to hold Hung and Cuong for further investigation.

The jury said that the defendants were corrupt and made fake seals, but authorities were not satisfied.

The extended inquiry will examine the papers the accused used to import the H-Capita, whether the Helix Canada company exists, and the responsibility of different individuals as well as the DAVN in the case. — VNS