Tainted vaccine company hit with US$1.32b penalty

Chinese authorities yesterday imposed penalties totaling more than 9.1 billion yuan (US$1.32 billion) on a company that illegally produced a rabies vaccine.

Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Limited violated laws and regulations on drug management and production supervision, national and local drug authorities said.

Violations included blending different batches of vaccine, falsifying production dates and using expired fluid to produce some batches, the authorities said.

The National Medical Products Administration annulled the company’s rabies vaccine approval document and certificates for related products. It imposed a fine of 12.03 million yuan.

Jilin Food and Drug Administration revoked the company’s pharmaceutical production license, confiscated illegally-produced vaccines and the income of 1.89 billion yuan from defective vaccine sales. It imposed a fine of 7.21 billion yuan, three times the value of the defective vaccines produced and sold by the company.

Individuals directly responsible for the violations will be banned from drug manufacturing and operating activities, and those suspected of committing crimes will face criminal charges.

Li Jiang, an NMPA legal adviser, said: “Serious punishment for the case will serve as a warning for drug safety and shows the authorities’ resolution to crack down on drug violations and protect people’s health.”

The China Securities Regulatory Commission said yesterday it will fine Changchun Changsheng’s Shenzhen-listed parent company 600,000 yuan, along with punishments for responsible individuals.

The commission said it will decide on final penalties after hearing statements from the parties involved. It warned other companies to learn a lesson from the case to promote healthy growth of the capital market.