China fines pharma firm $1.3 billion in vaccine scandal

The company was handed a fine and asset seizure totaling 9.1 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion), the China National Drug Administration (CNDA) Jilin Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday.

The amount includes the forfeiture of 1.89 billion yuan in revenue from the sale of the vaccine.

The company is accused of wrongly mixing stock solutions, modifying centrifuges, and "destroying hard drives and evidence to conceal illegal actions", the regulators said in a joint statement.

Vile and shocking

China is regularly hit by scandals involving sub-par or toxic food, drugs and other products, despite repeated promises by the government to address the problem.

After the latest case came to light, the authorities announced a nationwide inspection of laboratories producing vaccines.

But many Chinese parents say they no longer have confidence in the medicines administered to their children.

During the height of the scandal, clinics in Hong Kong saw a run on their vaccine stocks by worried parents from the mainland.

A dozen people protested outside the health ministry in Beijing in late July, shouting "legislation for vaccines is imperative! Handle this properly and responsibly!"

President Xi Jinping described the vaccine scandal as "vile" and "shocking" in July while Premier Li Keqiang said the latest case had crossed a "line of human ethics".

Several senior officials from the drug regulatory agency as well as top Jilin government officials were sacked over the scandal.

In August, India ordered a recall of rabies vaccines made by Changchun Changsheng and complained that it only found out about possible problems through media reports.