BBC News:
Authorities in China have ordered an investigation into a vaccination scandal as panic grows over product safety. Last week vaccine maker Changsheng Biotechnology Co was found to have falsified production data for its rabies vaccine. The firm has been ordered to halt production and recall rabies vaccines.
There has been no evidence of harm from the vaccine, but the scandal has sparked a huge outcry in China.Changsheng, which suspended trading in its shares for part of Monday, saw their value drop by 10% on the day.
The shares have slumped 47% since mid-July, when news of the scandal first broke. On Sunday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged severe punishment for the people involved, saying the incident had “crossed a moral line”.
“We will resolutely crack down on illegal and criminal acts that endanger the safety of peoples’ lives, resolutely punish lawbreakers according to the law, and resolutely and severely criticise dereliction of duty in supervision,” he said in a statement posted on a government website.
Changsheng has apologised, saying that it was “guilty and embarrassed” and would co-operate with drug regulators to carry out a comprehensive internal investigation.
On 15 July, China’s State Drug Administration (SDA) announced that Changchun Changsheng had falsified production data during the production of its freeze-dried human rabies vaccine.
According to a report by Xinhua, an official said the company had “fabricated production records and product inspection records”, as well as “arbitrarily changed process parameters and equipment” during production.
The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) said the rabies vaccine had been recalled and that the company would be put under investigation.
Days later, Jilin province authorities announced a 2017 batch of the firm’s diptheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine – or DTaP – was also substandard.
According to state media outlet CGTN, more than 250,000 doses of DTaP in the batch had already been sold to disease control and prevention centres in eastern China.
The company has now been ordered to pay a fine of 3.4m yuan ($510,000; £387,957).