Taiwanese vaccine maker Adimmune Corp could face a fine of up to NT$2 million (US$61,554) if it is found to have violated lab safety regulations, Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said yesterday, after Chinese-language media said there was a rat-related sanitation breach at one of its facilities last year.
In a report published early yesterday, Mirror Media said it had learned from a whistle-blower at Adimmune that 120 lab rats had allegedly been left untended for three days in 12 cages by a vaccine developer as Typhoon Gaemi hit Taiwan in July last year.
When employees returned to work after the typhoon holiday, the lab was filled with a pungent smell from the accumulated mouse dander, urine and feces, the report said.
Photo courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control
Not only did the lab managers fail to report the incident to their superiors, but they neglected to disinfect the lab or discipline the employee responsible, possibly risking wider contamination, it said.
The Taichung-based Adimmune in a statement said that the facility where the incident occurred was a vaccine research lab, and was not in the same location as its production lines or quality control labs.
Following the typhoon holiday, all animals at the lab were transported to a specialized company facility in Nantou County, and none of them were used in any subsequent vaccine-related experiments or testing, it said.
Asked to comment on the allegations during a Legislative Yuan meeting yesterday, Chiu said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had sent officials to inspect the lab and find out what exactly had happened.
If the company is found to have violated Good Manufacturing Practices, it could face a fine of NT $30,000 to NT$2 million under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (藥事法), Chiu said.
Chiu also downplayed the risk of vaccine contamination, saying that finished vaccines undergo an 11-step inspection process by the FDA before they are sealed and made available to the public.
Adimmune is one of five companies authorized to manufacture or distribute flu vaccines in Taiwan, along with TTY Biopharm, Medigen Vaccine Biological Corp, and the Taiwan branches of Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
RSS