The former general manager of a pharmaceutical company whose antibiotic injections were blamed for 11 deaths has committed suicide.

Qiu Zuyi, general manager of the Anhui Huayuan Biology Pharmacy Company was found dead on November 1, the Beijing News reported. He had hung himself.

The report said Qiu was "under heavy pressure" after the Anhui Province company's clindamycin phosphate glucose injection, known as Xinfu, was banned.

The Ministry of Health ordered a recall of the drug on August 3 after a 6-year-old girl died in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, after receiving an injection.

At least five more deaths were reported after that, and more than 100 patients suffered adverse reactions to the drug.

The State Food and Drug Administration said the deaths were caused by manufacturing failures, because the company failed to properly sterilize the ingredients.

Qiu was fired on October 16, but stayed on as a consultant to the company, assisting the new general manager with compensation requests from patients from all over the country.

So far, more than 400 people have registered for compensation, and the number is still climbing.

The company lacked an expert team to help identify who were the real sufferers of the drug. But the State Food and Drug Administration has determined that only about 100 were genuine patients who had been harmed by the substandard drug.

The alleged patients have called for compensation exceeding the company's capacity.

The lowest compensation request is somewhere between 60,000 and 70,000 yuan (US$7,500 to US$8,750), while the highest request is for 700,000 yuan (US$87,500).

However, the company said it could only afford less than 10,000 yuan (US$1,200) for each patient.

The company has suffered massive losses due to the deadly drug.

It stopped manufacturing in August and more than 2,000 workers were asked to stay home.

Xinfu, the antibiotic injection at the heart of the scandal, used to be the major source of the company's profits, accounting for 28 per cent of its takings.

Workers returned on October 23, but the company currently only produces citric acid.

Insiders worry that the company may not be able to continue production for much longer.

The report quoted an anonymous member of the managerial staff saying the company owes 70 million yuan (US$8.75 million) in bank loans as well as 80 million yuan (US$10 million) to a fund raised by workers.

Unable to face the company's collapse, Qiu wrote a final note on the night of October 31, saying he had gone together with Xinfu.

His body was found in an apartment he rented.