Changchun Changsheng ex-chairman Gao Junfang's life sentence upheld in vaccine fraud case

By Jia Zicong | Edited by Gao Yan | Source: Yema Finance

After eight years, the legal proceedings have concluded in the vaccine scandal that once shook the nation. On September 21, the Jilin Provincial Higher People's Court issued a final ruling on the "fake vaccine" case involving Changsheng Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (formerly stock code: 002680.SZ, now delisted), upholding the original verdict. Gao Junfang, former chairwoman of Changsheng Biotech, was convicted on four counts and sentenced to life imprisonment with deprivation of political rights for life and confiscation of all personal assets.

Key Details from the Court Ruling

A notable detail emerged from the court's findings: rabies vaccines produced by Changsheng Biotech's wholly-owned subsidiary, Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology Co., Ltd., passed random sampling tests for antigen content and potency, with "no evidence of substantive quality issues." However, the company had falsified production records, arbitrarily altered process parameters, and misused equipment, seriously violating Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards. Consequently, the conduct was ultimately classified as the crime of producing and selling counterfeit products, rather than the more serious charges of producing fake or substandard drugs that the public initially expected.

Market Impact and Delisting

By September 2026, Changsheng Biotech's stock code had long disappeared from trading platforms. Following the exposure of vaccine record falsification on July 15, 2018, the company's shares hit the daily limit down for 32 consecutive trading days—setting a record for the longest such streak in A-share market history. Over 233 trading days, the stock price fell nearly 94%, erasing ¥22.4 billion in market value.

In 2019, Changsheng Biotech was forcibly delisted for major violations, becoming the first A-share company removed from the market for such reasons.

Eight-Year Legal Battle Ends with Final Verdict

In the year the scandal broke, 18 suspects including Gao Junfang were arrested, multiple senior executives were detained, and the Jilin Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection launched an investigation into corruption related to the vaccine case.

On January 30, 2026, the Changchun Intermediate People's Court issued its first-instance verdict, finding Gao Junfang guilty of:

• Producing and selling counterfeit products
• Accepting bribes as a non-state functionary
• Misappropriating funds
• Committing bribery on behalf of the company

She was sentenced to life imprisonment with deprivation of political rights for life and confiscation of all personal assets.

The court also found that between 2006 and 2014, Changchun Changsheng had bribed Wang Lifeng, a former official at the National Medical Products Administration, a total of ¥20.9 million in exchange for expedited drug registration approvals and exemption from administrative penalties.

Following the verdict, Gao Junfang and others appealed to the Jilin Provincial Higher People's Court. The appeal hearing took place in late June 2026, and on September 21, the court announced it had rejected the appeal and upheld the original verdict.

Other Sentences

• Zhang Youkui (Gao Junfang's husband, former director and deputy general manager of Changsheng Biotech): Sentenced to 6 years in prison for fund misappropriation
• Zhang Jing (former director and deputy general manager) and Liu Jingye (deputy general manager of Changchun Changsheng), along with 10 others: Sentenced to 7–15 years for producing and selling counterfeit products
• Zhao Zhiwei (former director) and 3 other employees: Sentenced to 2 years 9 months to 2 years 10 months for aiding in the destruction of evidence

Changchun Changsheng, which had been listed as a defendant, was dissolved on June 3, 2024—before the criminal verdict was finalized. By the time the ruling came down, the corporate entity no longer existed, leaving only the individuals to face accountability.

From Finance Director to "Vaccine Queen"

Born in 1954, Gao Junfang began her career as an ordinary employee at the Changchun Institute of Biological Products, eventually rising to become its finance director. Her husband, Zhang Youkui, worked at the same institute as deputy director of personnel.

In 1992, Changsheng Industrial—the predecessor of Changsheng Biotech—was established, with the institute contributing capital and vaccine production technology for a 50% stake. The couple eventually moved into the company's core leadership.

Gao's pivotal moment came in 2003 during a share transfer. At the time, Changsheng Biotech was a profitable subsidiary of Changchun High-Tech. On December 16, 2003, the Changchun High-Tech board approved the transfer of its 59.68% stake in Changsheng Biotech at ¥2.4 per share. Gao Junfang, then vice-chairman of Changchun High-Tech and chairman of Changsheng Biotech, acquired 17.34 million shares (34.68% of total equity) for ¥41.616 million. Yatai Group acquired 12.5 million shares (25%) for ¥30 million.

The pricing was controversial from the start, given Changsheng's strong profitability. Following public scrutiny, Changchun High-Tech raised the price to ¥2.7 per share, but Gao remained the buyer. In August 2006, Yatai Group sold its stake to Gao, completing the privatization and placing Changsheng Biotech firmly under the Gao family's control.

In 2015, Changsheng Biotech went public via a backdoor listing through Huanghai Machinery. The Gao family's wealth soared, with Gao Junfang's personal fortune exceeding ¥10 billion, making her one of Jilin Province's richest individuals.

In the secondary vaccine market—including rabies and DTaP vaccines—Changsheng Biotech held a leading market share for years. Gao Junfang, dubbed the "Vaccine Queen," enjoyed considerable prominence.

At its peak in May 2018, Changsheng Biotech's stock price approached ¥29, with a total market value nearing ¥28 billion. From acquiring state-owned shares at ¥2.7 each to building a ¥28 billion market cap, Gao Junfang had transformed a controversial transaction into a corporate empire over 15 years.

The Collapse: Who Pays for the Victims?

Vaccines are unlike ordinary products—they are injected into healthy individuals, relying on the most fragile form of trust. The public outrage over Changsheng's fraud stemmed not just from the possibility that a batch of vaccines might be lethal, but from the betrayal of public confidence in vaccine safety.

When parents brought their children for vaccination, they entrusted their lives to the system. What they received in return were falsified production records—a betrayal more damaging than the drugs themselves being substandard.

Earlier Warning Signs

Changsheng's problems predated 2018. In November 2017, a batch of DTaP combined vaccine (batch number 201605014-01) was found to have potency below standard. All 252,600 doses had been distributed to the Shandong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The National Medical Products Administration and National Health Commission ordered a halt to use and launched an investigation, but the incident foreshadowed greater problems.

The Breaking Point

The real explosion came on July 15, 2018, when the National Medical Products Administration announced that Changchun Changsheng had falsified production and inspection records for freeze-dried human rabies vaccine, arbitrarily changed process parameters, and misused equipment. Although the vaccines already on the market passed official quality tests, the production fraud shattered public trust nationwide. Countless parents stayed up all night checking their children's vaccination records, fearing their children had received the compromised vaccines.

Rabies has a nearly 100% fatality rate once symptoms appear—the highest of any known infectious disease. With no effective treatment after onset, vaccination is the primary defense. The falsification of rabies vaccine production records was therefore not merely a regulatory violation but a matter of life and death for vaccine recipients.

Penalties

In 2018, the National Medical Products Administration and Jilin Provincial Food and Drug Administration imposed severe administrative penalties on Changchun Changsheng:

• Confiscation of illegally produced vaccines and illegal income of ¥1.89 billion
• A fine three times the value of the goods: ¥7.21 billion
• Total penalties: ¥9.1 billion
• Revocation of the Drug Manufacturing License

The China Securities Regulatory Commission also issued a warning and fined Changsheng Biotech ¥600,000 (the maximum penalty), while imposing a lifetime market ban on Gao Junfang and others. The CSRC's findings revealed that Gao Junfang and others had also committed bribery, fund misappropriation, and corporate bribery.

Compensation for Victims

In October 2018, the National Medical Products Administration, National Health Commission, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, and Jilin Provincial Government jointly issued a compensation plan for victims of Changsheng's problematic rabies vaccines. The plan required Changchun Changsheng to establish a special compensation fund managed by China Life Insurance, covering:

• Follow-up vaccinations
• Damage compensation
• Civil litigation compensation
• Damage assessment
• Consulting services
• Clinical observation

Compensation was tiered based on harm severity:

| Harm Level | Compensation | |------------|-------------| | General disability | ¥200,000 per person | | Severe disability or paralysis | ¥500,000 per person | | Death | ¥650,000 per person |

The plan applied to recipients of problematic rabies vaccines produced between January 2014 and December 2017 who were determined to have suffered related harm.

Regulatory Reform

The scandal prompted systemic reform. On June 29, 2019, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed the Vaccine Administration Law—China's first dedicated vaccine law—which took effect on December 1, 2019. The law significantly increased penalties:

• Maximum fine for producing/selling fake vaccines: 50 times the value of the goods
• Maximum fine for substandard vaccines: 30 times the value of the goods
• Lifetime industry bans and administrative detention as supplementary measures

Delisting and Investor Impact

In 2019, the delisting process began. In January, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange decided to forcibly delist Changsheng Biotech for major violations. The stock was formally delisted in October, making Changsheng the first A-share company forcibly removed for such reasons.

Approximately 24,800 shareholders bore the cost of the collapse. Investors seeking civil compensation for false statements faced two major obstacles: difficulty filing lawsuits and difficulty collecting damages. The company was already insolvent, its core operating entity (Changchun Changsheng) was dissolved in June 2024, and other operations had ceased.

Lawyer Li Jian of Zhejiang Yufeng Law Firm noted at the time that the CSRC's formal administrative penalty marked the start of investor claims, but warned that the large number of claimants, substantial amounts involved, and lengthy litigation process—combined with the company's likely delisting—made the outlook for compensation and enforcement "not optimistic."

Conclusion

From "Vaccine Queen" to the first A-share company forcibly delisted for major violations, and now to a final criminal verdict, the eight-year saga has reached its conclusion.

The law has imposed a life sentence and drawn a clear, non-negotiable line: drug safety is a red line, and vaccine safety is the reddest of red lines. Those who treat this line as a business opportunity, no matter how much they profit, will ultimately have to pay back everything—principal and interest.

What are your thoughts on the end of Changsheng Biotech? Feel free to share in the comments.

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