China vaccine scandal: investigations begin into faulty rabies and DTaP shots

Trust in China’s authorities to guarantee the safety of medicines has been shaken after the nation’s second largest producer of rabies vaccines was found to have faked records.

Changsheng Biotechnology, based in the northeastern Jilin province, was ordered to cease producing a Vero cell based rabies vaccine on 15 July after China’s State Food and Drug Administration found that it had forged production and inspection data, the regulator said.1 Investigators reportedly acted on a tip-off from an ex-employee.

Changsheng issued an apology and announced a recall as shares in the company tumbled. It was not clear whether the batches had been released to market or how the substandard vaccine might affect people, but …