Chinese Vaccine Maker Fined $1.3 Billion After Scandal

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese maker of rabies vaccine has been fined $1.3 billion for falsifying production records in a scandal that prompted a nationwide crackdown on the industry.

The State Drug Administration said Tuesday that Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Ltd. also was stripped of its production licenses for vaccines and drugs.

The company’s chief executive and 14 other managers were detained in July after a surprise inspection found the company fabricated production and inspection records.

Disclosure of the case triggered a public outcry. The ruling Communist Party’s top two leaders, President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, publicly ordered a nationwide inspection of other vaccine producers.

There were no reports of injuries due to use of the company’s vaccines.