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 of legal proceedings, the former chairwoman of Changsheng Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Gao Junfang, has been convicted on four criminal charges and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Final Verdict Reached

On September 21, the Jilin Provincial Higher People's Court issued a final ruling on the "fake vaccine" case involving Changsheng Biotechnology (formerly stock code: 002680.SZ, now delisted), drawing widespread public attention. The appellate court upheld the original verdict, sentencing Gao Junfang to life imprisonment with deprivation of political rights for life and confiscation of all personal property.

A notable detail emerged from the court's findings: rabies vaccines produced by Changsheng'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 fabricated 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 crimes of producing fake or substandard drugs as the public initially suspected.

As of September 2026, Changsheng's stock code has long disappeared from trading platforms. Following the exposure of vaccine record falsification on July 15, 2018, the stock experienced 32 consecutive daily limit-downs starting July 16, 2018—setting a record for the longest consecutive losing streak in A-share market history. Over 233 trading days, the stock price fell nearly 94%, erasing 22.4 billion yuan in market value.

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

Eight-Year Legal Battle Concludes

In the year the scandal broke, Gao Junfang and 17 other suspects were arrested, with multiple senior executives detained by public security authorities. The Jilin Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection also 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

The court also found that between 2006 and 2014, Changchun Changsheng bribed Wang Lifeng, then-director of the National Medical Products Administration's Drug Market Supervision Department and later director of the Drug and Cosmetics Registration Department, a total of 20.9 million yuan. The bribes were intended to secure expedited drug registration approvals and exemptions from administrative penalties.

After the first-instance verdict, Gao Junfang and others appealed to the Jilin Provincial Higher People's Court. The appellate hearing took place in late June 2026, and on September 21, the court rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment.

In addition to Gao Junfang:

• Her husband, Zhang Youkui, former director and deputy general manager of Changsheng, was sentenced to six 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, received prison terms ranging from 7 to 15 years for producing and selling counterfeit products
• Zhao Zhiwei, former director, and three other employees received sentences of 2 years and 9 months to 2 years and 10 months for aiding in the destruction of evidence

Changchun Changsheng, originally listed as a defendant, had been dissolved on June 3, 2024, before the first-instance verdict. By the time the criminal judgment was finalized, the corporate entity no longer existed, leaving only the natural persons behind it 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 Biotechnology—was established, with the Changchun Institute contributing capital and vaccine production technology for a 50% stake. The couple subsequently entered the company's core leadership.

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

The pricing was controversial from the start. Given Changsheng's strong profitability, the transaction sparked debate over state-owned asset valuation and became a widely cited example of a "low-priced management buyout." Under media and market pressure, Changchun High-Tech eventually raised the price to 2.7 yuan per share, with Gao still as the buyer. In August 2006, Yatai Group sold its stake to Gao, completing Changsheng's privatization under the Gao family's control.

In 2015, Changsheng went public through a backdoor listing via Huanghai Machinery, dramatically increasing the Gao family's wealth. Gao's personal fortune once exceeded 10 billion yuan, making her one of Jilin Province's richest individuals.

In the second-category vaccine market—including rabies and DTaP vaccines—Changsheng held a leading market share for years. Known as the "Vaccine Queen," Gao enjoyed considerable prominence.

After listing, Changsheng was highly sought after by investors. In May 2018, its stock price peaked at nearly 29 yuan, with a total market capitalization approaching 28 billion yuan, making it a star in the A-share vaccine sector. From acquiring state-owned shares at 2.7 yuan each to building a 28-billion-yuan listed company, Gao spent 15 years transforming a controversial low-priced transaction into a massive capital empire.

When this empire collapsed in 2018, however, what remained in public memory was not the original share transfer agreement, but the fear it left in countless families.

The Collapse of a Vaccine Giant: Who Pays for the Victims?

Vaccines differ from ordinary products—they are administered to healthy individuals, relying on the most fragile form of trust. The Changsheng scandal ignited nationwide outrage not necessarily because a particular batch of vaccines was lethal, but because it shattered public confidence in vaccine safety.

When families brought their children for vaccination, they entrusted their lives to the system. What they received in return were fabricated production records. This betrayal cut deeper than the drugs' potential ineffectiveness.

Changsheng's problems predated 2018. In November 2017, a batch of DTaP combined vaccine (batch number 201605014-01) was found to have substandard potency. 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 dispatched investigation teams. The incident appeared to subside but laid the groundwork for a larger crisis.

The real explosion came on July 15, 2018, when the National Medical Products Administration announced that Changchun Changsheng had fabricated production and testing records for freeze-dried human rabies vaccine, arbitrarily altered process parameters, and misused equipment. Although legally mandated testing of marketed vaccines found no quality issues, the production fraud shattered parents' nerves nationwide. Countless families stayed up all night checking their children's vaccination records, fearing their children had received the problematic vaccines.

Rabies has a nearly 100% fatality rate once symptoms appear—the highest known among infectious diseases. With no effective treatment available, vaccination is the primary preventive measure. Therefore, the falsification of rabies vaccine production records was not merely a regulatory violation but a matter of life and death for vaccine recipients.

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

• Confiscation of illegally produced vaccines and illegal gains totaling 1.89 billion yuan
• A fine three times the value of the goods, amounting to 7.21 billion yuan
• Total penalties of 9.1 billion yuan
• Revocation of the Drug Manufacturing License

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

For vaccine recipients, the government quickly established a special relief channel. In October 2018, the National Medical Products Administration, National Health Commission, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, and Jilin Provincial People's Government jointly issued the "Compensation Implementation Plan for Changchun Changsheng Rabies Vaccine Issues." 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 damage severity:

• General disability: 200,000 yuan per person
• Severe disability or paralysis: 500,000 yuan per person
• Death: 650,000 yuan per person

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

The scandal also prompted institutional reform. On June 29, 2019, the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress passed the Vaccine Administration Law—China's first dedicated vaccine legislation—which took effect on December 1, 2019. The law significantly increased penalties:

• Maximum fine of 50 times the value of goods for producing or selling fake vaccines
• Maximum fine of 30 times the value of goods for producing or selling substandard vaccines
• Lifetime industry bans and administrative detention

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

Approximately 24,800 shareholders bore the cost of this collapse. These thousands of investors filed civil lawsuits for securities fraud, but faced two major obstacles: difficulty in filing cases and difficulty in obtaining compensation. The company responsible for compensation was already insolvent, its core operating entity Changchun Changsheng was dissolved in June 2024, and other business units had ceased operations.

Lawyer Li Jian of Zhejiang Yufeng Law Firm noted at the time that the CSRC's formal administrative penalty marked the full launch of investor claims. However, he cautioned that the large number of claimants, substantial claim amounts, and lengthy litigation process—combined with the company's likely delisting—made the prospects for final compensation and enforcement uncertain.

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

The law has imposed a life sentence, drawing a clear red line that cannot be crossed: drug safety is paramount, and vaccine safety is the most critical of all. Those who treat this line as a business opportunity, no matter how much profit they accumulate, will ultimately have to pay back everything—principal and interest.

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