China cancer patients turn to unapproved drugs on grey market

Shanghai

WHEN her father's lung cancer worsened, Yin Min, a 51-year-old financial broker from Shanghai, faced a choice: pay nearly US$3,000 a month for an approved drug or pay a fraction of the price for a generic drug not approved for use in China.

Ms Yin, like many families in China, turned to the increasingly popular, unregulated market of online pharmacies, agents and peer groups for drugs.