China probes pharma co after vaccine safety scandal

BEIJING

: China has launched an investigation into the functioning of a pharmaceutical company found to have falsified data about

rabies

vaccines. The action follows a call from

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang

to crack down on

vaccine makers engaged in irregularities

.


Chinese police have launched an investigation into

Changsheng Biotechnology Co

, its chairwoman and four senior executives over suspected criminal behaviour. The authorities have also ordered it to halt production.

The vaccine scandal has caused a major uproar in China with people already concerned about the safety of locally made medicines. Premier Li said the company had “crossed a moral line”. The China Food and Drug Administration said the rabies vaccine had been recalled.