About 300 dealers in 24 provinces allegedly bought the vaccines from or sold them to a mother and daughter in Jinan, Shandong. Together with her daughter, Sun, a medical school graduate, the two were detained on suspicion of illegal sale of 25 vaccine types.
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China’s national food and drug regulator also called on other regions which might have bought the illegal vaccines to investigate the issue in a statement posted online on Sunday.
Improper handling also can result in side effects that can cause disabilities and even death. Licensed producers in the country made the vaccines, but they were not kept or moved in required conditions, said the local police.
The case, which involves vaccines against meningitis, rabies and other illnesses, underlines the challenge the world’s second-largest drug market faces to regulate its fragmented supply chain, even as Beijing looks to support home-grown firms.
A thorough investigation into the alleged illegal reselling of vaccines has been ordered by the China Food and Drug Administration. Shandong’s provincial food and drug safety administration has publicized a list of buyers and sellers.
The mother and daughter at the centre of the scandal were arrested in April past year.
The case, according to Chinese media, is the largest of its kind on the mainland in terms of the amount of money involved.
Police have busted 21 cases in Inner Mongolia, Henan, Hebei and Shandong and arrested six suspects for the sales of problematic vaccines.
The report adds that the suspects, who were only identified by their surname, Pang, allegedly stored and transported the medicines without appropriate refrigeration and without proper spoilage control measures.
“24 provinces, 5 years already, and how many children!…” It is unclear why the case has only become public now, and some web-users raised concerns over the delay in the release of details.
In a statement provided to CNBC News, ” Chinese authorities are hunting 300 people suspected of illegally selling deadly, spoiled vaccines, in what could be the country’s biggest case of its kind. China has previously sought to cover up health scares. Earlier, it was revealed that illegal vaccines worth $90 million have been sold in a number of Chinese provinces.
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Local police said that a Shandong mother and her daughter had purchased vaccines illegally from traders then sold them to hundreds of different re-sellers across the country, according to word from the Public Security Department in Shandong.
