Chinese authorities have arrested 15 people including the chairwoman of a rabies vaccine producer under fire for fraudulent quality control in the country’s latest drug-safety scandal.
News that pharmaceutical manufacturer Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology had fabricated records and was ordered to cease production of rabies vaccines has revived deep consumer unease over product safety in the country, fuelled by recurring scandals over the years.
Authorities in the northeastern city of Changchun, where the company is based, have arrested 15 people including the company’s chairwoman on “suspicion of criminal offences”, city police announced late on Tuesday.
The announcement did not give the chairwoman’s full name but she has previously been identified as Gao Junfang.
The affair has shattered already fragile trust in regulators and spotlighted the frustrations of China’s increasingly sophisticated consumers, who took to social media en masse to vent their anger over the case.
