Chinese leaders scramble to shore up public confidence after rabies vaccine maker was found faking records.
A vaccine scandal in China, which has prompted angry reactions from citizens fed up with safety scares, is sending ripples across the local drug market and threatening Chinese ambitions to play a larger role in the global pharmaceutical space.
Regulators said last week they had halted production of a rabies vaccine made by Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Ltd, which is based in northeastern China, after finding fabricated records and other problems during an inspection.
By Monday, shares in Chinese vaccine makers and biotech firms had fallen across the board.
Premier Li Keqiang slammed the company late on Sunday for having crossed a moral red line and called for swift action.
“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,” Li said in a statement posted on the government’s website.
Changsheng has been found to have faked production documents related to a rabies vaccine that is given to babies as young as three months, underscoring the difficulties China faces in cleaning up the image of the world’s second-biggest drug industry as it aims to promote its vaccines globally.
