(Photo: CGTN)

The investigation into a vaccine scandal involving China's second-largest rabies vaccine maker has made important progress, the investigating team from the State Council said on Friday. 

The investigators said they had provisionally concluded that Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences had produced rabies vaccines illegally.

Sixteen suspects, including the company's chairwoman Gao Junfang, had been detained up to Wednesday. The bank accounts of executives and those suspected of direct involvement in the scandal have also been frozen.

The probe was set up after the company was accused of counterfeiting production data and changing the parameters for the equipment processing the vaccine in violation of good pharmaceutical manufacturing practices.

The investigators said the vaccine maker's violation of laws and regulations include: 

• Blending undiluted vaccine solutions from different batches for sub-packaging,

• Re-concentrating and re-purifying blended vaccine solutions,

 • Using expired preparations for individual batches of products,

• Forging production data, and

• Conducting in advance challenge experiments on mice that should be carried out after vaccines had been produced.

According to a reporter with the People's Daily at the investigation scene, a total of 60 computer hard drives, which the company allegedly attempted to damage and dispose of, were retrieved by authorities. Further investigation is ongoing.

Chinese drug regulators conducted unannounced inspections at Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences from July 6 to 8 during which violations were discovered and vaccine production immediately suspended.

According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 516 cases of rabies in humans in China in 2017 and the human morbidity of rabies in the country is declining each year.