Embattled Chinese vaccine maker Changsheng Bio-technology risks delisting as big shareholders are barred from selling shares

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Changsheng Bio-technology faces possible delisting after regulators said it had falsified data for its rabies vaccines. Photo: Imaginechina

Published: 11:15am, 24 Jul 2018Updated: 11:14pm, 24 Jul 2018

Having lost half its market value in the space of seven days after regulators found it had fabricated data for its rabies vaccines, Chinese pharmaceuticals maker Changsheng Bio-technology now faces a further trauma: possible delisting.

The company, which is at the centre of a storm for tampering with production and inspection data related to the vaccine, may be deprived of its listing status for breach of disclosure rules, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange said on Monday night. The bourse has already taken measures barring Changsheng’s major shareholders and executives from selling the stock, it said in a statement on its website.

Shares of Changsheng slumped by the 10 per cent daily limit for a seventh consecutive day to 11.75 yuan at the close on Tuesday, erasing 12.5 billion yuan (US$1.83 billion) in market value.

The company was also found to have sold an unqualified vaccine for the treatment of coughs and colds in infants. The medicine failed a test conducted by the state drug administration.

The scandal has caught the attention of China’s top leaders. Just a day after Premier Li Keqiang dispatched an investigation team, President Xi Jinping interrupted a trip to Africa to order local authorities to conduct an immediate probe and release the findings to the public in a timely manner to ensure social stability.

Trading in the company’s stock will be suspended on Wednesday, and when it restarts on Thursday the company will be categorised as a “special treatment” stock because the company does not expect normal business operations to resume in three months, Changsheng said in an exchange statement after the market closed on Tuesday.

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