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Chinese authorities have expressed anger over a vaccine scandal that is undermining the local pharmaceutical sector and undermining its global ambitions. In a statement released by the government on Sunday night, Prime Minister Li Keqiang accused the Changsheng Biotechnology laboratory of crossing a red line on the moral plane. He demanded exemplary sanctions against the companies and people involved in this scandal involving falsification of documents relating to the production of a rabies vaccine. "We will vigorously fight unlawful and criminal acts that endanger the lives of people, punish outlaws with determination and severely criticize breaches of duty of supervision," Li Keqiang said.
Chinese health authorities said they discovered that Changsheng had fabricated fake production and inspection records and arbitrarily changed production parameters and equipment, in "serious violation" of the law. This rabies vaccine is given to babies as early as three months of age. He does not seem to have had any casualties so far but the health authorities have ordered Changsheng to stop production and recall the product.
This scandal has also fueled the population's exasperation as this type, in food and health, have multiplied in China for about ten years. It was Monday one of the most discussed topics on the social network Sina Weibo. Changsheng apologized and warned that the suspension of his vaccine would have a significant impact on his finances. He added that regional disease control agencies had suspended other vaccines.
The sector falls on the stock market
It also suggested that it may have to withdraw from the stock market because of an investigation by the Chinese stock exchange authorities into alleged violations of the regulation on financial publications. Changsheng stock fell 10% Monday on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. It has plunged 47% since the scandal surfaced in mid-July. The local health sector index lost 4%.
This is not the first time that Changsheng is facing quality problems. Last year, he sold 252,600 vaccines against diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus that did not meet health standards, the authorities in Jilin Province said on Friday. In an editorial, the China Daily, a body close to power, urges the government to let the public know that it "will punish ruthlessly any criminal."
The official agency China New has for its part called for severe sanctions for any offense, large or small, found in the manufacture of vaccines and enhanced surveillance of the sector. The state-controlled Global Times says the case "sparked national outrage (and) could pose serious challenges for a domestic sector that has grown rapidly in recent years, but also a series of scandals." "
(With Reuters)
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