(Yicai Global) Aug. 31 -- Leaders of a research unit of Fosun Pharmaceutical push workers to fabricate a large amount of production and inspection reports so as to hide the fact that the firm fails to follow the standards for almost all active pharmaceutical ingredients, one of the employees has claimed.

Chongqing Food and Drug Administration published on its website on Aug. 24 the above statements regarding alleged fraud that Chongqing Pharmaceutical Research Institute's employee came out with.

The Shanghai-based parent's [SHA: 600196] share price has fluctuated after the news came out, but with today's reading of CNY29.68 at 11.30 a.m. the company's stock returned to trade just 3 percent lower to the level of CNY30.57 reported at the close of the day of the leak.

"The company has already learned of the matter, but the report is not true. The firm will make no public explanation until Chongqing Food and Drug Administration finishes its investigation which is still underway," a staff member at the research institute in southwestern China told a reporter from local news outlet National Business Daily yesterday.

These APIs are sold both at home and abroad but all production techniques fail to meet the standards, the anonymous whistleblower said, adding that the firm's leaders just ignore the regulations but fake the records in order to get a Good Manufacturing Practice certificate from the drug regulator.   

One of the substandard drugs is an antipsychotic drug called aripiprazole mainly sold to Shanghai Zhongxi Pharmaceutical, the source said, adding that the US Food and Drug Administration's probe rated the medicine as unqualified, which has not stopped the company from selling it. The FDA warned the firm upon a field inspection in May 2016, as well as in November 2017, when the company was given the worst result called an OVI.

Fosun Pharmaceutical's unit, namely Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Industry Development, holds over 56 percent of Chongqing Pharmaceutical Research Institute's equity while the remainder belongs to Chongqing Pharmaceutical, corporate credit information platform Qixinbao shows.

Editor: Emmi Laine