NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, March 21, 2016

Chinese authorities have pledged to crack down on the black market sale of vaccines after a case was made public involving nearly $90 million (62 million pounds) worth of illegal vaccines that are suspected of being sold in dozens of provinces around the country.

The drug regulator in Shandong, the province at the heart of the scandal, said on Monday it would work with police forces and the health ministry to inspect vaccine stocks to ascertain where 570 million yuan ($88 million) worth of vaccines had ended up.

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.

“We will thoroughly investigate all clues in the case and once we get to the bottom of it then we will severely punish those found to have violated the law,” the Shandong food and drug administration said in a statement posted on its website.