Vaccine maker involved in new probe

A top Chinese vaccine manufacturer involved in a probe regarding its production of rabies vaccines for human use is under investigation for its substandard adsorbed diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus vaccine for infants, according to thepaper.cn.

As reported by the Shanghai-based online media organization, Changchun Changsheng Bio-tech Co, in Northeast China's Jilin province, received a punishment notice by Jilin Provincial Drug Administration, which fined and confiscated 3.44 million yuan ($508,000) due to its substandard ADPT vaccine.

Thepaper.cn said the Jilin Provincial Drug Administration announced on July 20 that a total of 253,338 ADPT vaccines produced by Changchun Changsheng Bio-tech Co couldn't meet the standard of immunity result and were recalled last year.

Most of those vaccines had been sold to Shandong province. But the provincial administration didn't revealed details of related problems and the recall.

The State Drug Administration said last week that during an inspection by the administration, Changsheng was found to have serious irregularities, including fudging production records for freeze-dried rabies vaccines for human use.

The State Drug Administration said on Sunday that both cases are under investigation and the results will be released to the public as soon as possible.

The Center for Diseases Control and Prevention in Beijing and South China's Guangdong province both announced that neither of the two regions have vaccines involved in the two cases.

The two cases have aroused massive public concern about vaccine safety in a past few days.

Several state media are calling for severe punishment and stricter supervision of vaccines. People's Daily released a commentary on Sunday, saying that drug makers should stick to the moral principle and place life as priority rather than profits.

In a news report released on Sunday, the Procuratorate Daily calls for stronger supervision on vaccine production from the related department and suggests imposing tougher penalties on violators as a warning to prevent similar cases from occurring again.

According to a statement released by the State Drug Administration last week, no products involved in the inspection were on sale, and all the vaccines involved have been removed.