48 officials punished over defective vaccine case

A total of 48 officials have been punished following the discovery of defective vaccines produced by Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Ltd, said the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission in a statement over the weekend.

Wu Zhen, former deputy head of the now defunct China Food and Drug Administration and a former member of the agency’s leading Party members’ group, was expelled from the CPC and transferred to the procuratorate for investigation and prosecution for suspected duty crime.

Wu failed to follow important instructions made by the CPC Central Committee regarding medical security, according to an earlier investigation.

Being “ruthless to the people”, Wu allegedly abused his power in drug regulation, severely jeopardizing the national supervision over drugs, the statement said.

An investigation found him to have appeared in private clubs, as well as at banquets and on trips offered by others, which may have resulted in unfairness.

The statement said Wu took advantage of his position to help his relatives in recruitment, took bribes and benefited his relatives through business.

Wu was among six high-ranking officials who were fired or asked to resign as a result of the CCDI and National Supervisory Commission investigations.

A total of 42 lower-level officials, who had worked with the CFDA, National Medical Products Administration, drug administration agencies of various levels in Jilin province, Changchun city government and Changchun high-tech industries development area, were also punished.

Among the 42 were three duty crime suspects who formerly served with the Jilin Provincial Medical Products Administration and were expelled from the CPC and transferred to procuratorial agencies for investigation and prosecution for suspected duty crimes.