Vaccine scandal: chairman of Chinese pharmaceutical Firm Changsheng Biotech arrested

The chairman of Chinese pharmaceutical company Changsheng Biotech, accused of falsifying data on its vaccines, has been arrested for questioning along with three other company executives, the firm said on Tuesday. Gao Junfang, chairman of Changsheng Biotech, was taken into police custody while the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, China’s anti-graft watchdog, launched a probe into the scandal, Efe news agency reported.

It may be mentioned that, on Sunday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged severe punishment for the people involved, saying the incident had “crossed a moral line”. Regulators last week ordered the Jilin-based Changsheng Biotechnology to stop production of a rabies vaccine, after investigators found fabricated production and inspection records during an inspection that was prompted by a tip off, the BBC reported. According to a report by Xinhua news agency, an official said the company had “fabricated production records and product inspection records”, as well as “arbitrarily changed process parameters and equipment” during production.

Also, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has called for an immediate investigation into the sale of 250,000 faulty rabies vaccines as panic grows over product safety. Outrage swept Chinese social media on Monday as regulators and officials tried to contain fallout over revelations that one of the country’s largest vaccine makers had been giving children defective vaccines. (IANS)