Vaccine scandal in China hits drug sector shares
The case goes viral as reports of substandard vaccines — some containing cancer-causing agents — frighten consumers and prompt China’s leaders to intervene
Shanghai — A Chinese vaccine scandal intensified on Monday, sending ripples across the drug market and threatening Chinese ambitions to play a larger role in the global pharmaceutical arena. Chinese police have launched an investigation into Changsheng Biotechnology, its chairwoman and four executives over suspected criminal behaviour, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday. Changsheng has been found to have falsified production documents related to a rabies vaccine that is given routinely to Chinese babies as young as three months, underscoring the challenge the drug market faces cleaning up its image as it aims to promote its vaccines globally. According to the China Food and Drug Administration, Changsheng fabricated production records as well as product inspection records, and arbitrarily changed process parameters and equipment, in "serious violations" of the law. Shares in Chinese vaccine makers and biotech firms fell across the board on Monday after Premier Li Keqiang...
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