At least 15 officials at a Chinese drug manufacturer have been detained as part of an investigation that it produced false records involving its rabies vaccine.
The detained executives include the chair of Changsheng Biotechnology, which was ordered last week to stop production and recall the vaccine after the China Food and Drug Administration discovered it had been falsifying production and inspection records.
Premier Li Keqiang issued a statement Sunday denouncing Changsheng for crossing a moral line, and promised to “resolutely crack down” on any actions that endangers public safety.
There have no reports of injuries from the vaccine, but the news led to a wave of criticism on social media.
Changsheng Biotechnology was forced to stop production of a vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis last year after regulators found the vaccine to be defective.
China has been working to restore confidence in its food and drug industries, both at home and abroad, after a series of scandals over the last decade over shoddy and tainted products, the most notorious in 2008, when 300,000 children were sickened when they were given milk powder contaminated with the chemical melamine. Six of the children died.