China halts Pfizer drug imports on paperwork glitch

China suspended imports of US drug maker Pfizer Inc's AIDS-related drug Diflucan on Tuesday, citing a problem with late paperwork, the country's food and drug watchdog said in a statement on its website.

Pfizer, the largest drug maker in the US, contravened Chinese law when one of its France-based factories failed to submit a supplementary application on time, the China Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in the statement.

With the country's healthcare spending forecast to nearly triple to $1 trillion by 2020 from $357 billion in 2011, according to consulting firm McKinsey, China is a magnet for makers of medicines and medical equipment.

Pfizer has taken steps to resolve the issue and is working with China's FDA to ensure its products comply with Chinese law, it said in a statement on its Chinese-language website.

The issue is not linked to quality or safety, it added.

Some analysts said that the incident looked like a paperwork "glitch" and predicted it should be short-lived.

"It should not impact too much Pfizer's business in China and I am sure the imports will be resumed once the procedure is complete," said Simon Li, Shanghai-based general manager at Kantar Health China.

China has been cracking down in 2013 on the healthcare sector, with investigations ranging from allegations of corporate bribery to how drugs are priced, as well as drives to increase quality and safety levels across the sector.