Rabis vaccine scam stokes fears in China
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 Keqiang, Chinese PM
shanghai — 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.
Shares in Chinese vaccine makers and biotech firms fell across the board on Monday after Premier Li Keqiang slammed Changsheng Biotechnology Co for having crossed a moral red line and called for swift action.
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.
While there have been no known reports of people being harmed by the vaccine, the regulator ordered Changsheng to halt production and recall the product after the scandal emerged earlier this month.
The case has gone viral in China, where sensitivity over food and drug safety is extremely high after a slew of scandals over the last decade. It was among the most hotly discussed topics on microblogging website Sina Weibo on Monday.
A hashtag related to the case had been read more than 600 million times by mid-afternoon on Monday, despite reports that some posts were being taken down by censors. “All my friends are freaking out with this vaccine case, everyone is scared. It really reflects big loopholes and issues with China’s food and drug safety regulation,” wrote one Weibo user under the handle 1988 Cheng Hongyu. “Yesterday it was milk powder, today vaccines. What will it be tomorrow?” another wrote, referring to a major scandal in 2008 when several infants died after industrial chemical melamine was added to milk powder to raise protein levels.
All my friends are freaking out with this vaccine case, everyone is scared. It really reflects big loopholes and issues with China’s food and drug safety regulation A blogger