2010-03-31 14:33

A biotech company in east China's Jiangsu province has denied a report that the rabies vaccines it produced in 2008 were mixed with an additive, which was said to have affected more than one million people nationwide.

The substance was said to be able to help the vaccines meet inspection standards at a lower cost but compromised the drug's potency according to the Hunan-based Xiaoxiang Morning Post, citing the findings of a joint investigation by the State Food and Drug Administration and its Jiangsu bureau.

However, the spokeswoman for the administration, Yan Jiangying, said they never released such a result. She said the investigation has not come to an end and refused to give any further information.

Last December, the Jiangsu Ealong Biotech Company was ordered to stop production and sales of rabies vaccines by the administration, after a total of 179,952 samples of the drug were found to have quality problems.

Simcere Drug Company, the parent company of Jiangsu Ealong, refuted the "additive" report, saying it was "completely groundless".

Xing Jianwei, director with Simcere's chief executive office, said Ealong delivered a lawyer's letter to the affiliated website of Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV on Tuesday afternoon after they were made aware of the "additive" report.

Phoenix TV retracted the article shortly after.

Previous reports had claimed Ealong's seven senior officers had been detained, including Han Gangjun, the board chairman, and others in charge of the vaccine's quality supervision. The procuratorate in Changzhou city said there is no news of the detention.

Xing disclosed that he has not heard of the news either, but hinted that Ealong will face a personnel reshuffle.