Quality Pharmaceutical Laboratory has been ordered to conduct an internal investigation to find the deficiencies in its drug manufacturing process which led to quality defects.

The Department of Health has told it to institute remedial measures before it is allowed to resume production. It will announce details of its recall plan later today, particularly the list of sites for product return.

The manufacturer must provide documentation and details of how it manufactures drugs. The department will not allow any of its products to be sold for now.

The manufacturer has registered 434 products in Hong Kong. Ninety have been sampled for laboratory analysis and 13 with defects have been found so far. Nine failed the disintegration time test while four others contained lower than registered content of their active ingredients.

The quality defects showed there were likely to be deficiencies in the manufacturing processes. The manufacturer has set up a hotline, 2429 8412, for public enquiries.