AstraZeneca says head of China operations under investigation

AstraZeneca said its Chinese president, Leon Wang, was under investigation and the drugmaker would cooperate with Chinese authorities.

The company did not say what the investigation was about or whether Wang had been detained by Chinese authorities. When asked about his whereabouts, a company spokesman reiterated that the executive was under investigation.

The British-Swedish company said in a statement on Wednesday that its China operations were “under the leadership of the current chief executive of AstraZeneca China” but did not provide further details.

“If requested, AstraZeneca will fully cooperate with the investigation,” the statement said.

Shares of AstraZeneca, which has invested heavily in China, the world’s No. 2 pharmaceutical market, fell 2.8% in London trading following the news.

Wang, who grew up in China and has worked at AstraZeneca for more than a decade, is a high-profile executive frequently mentioned in the Chinese business press and holds leadership positions in local business organizations.

Last year, at an event to celebrate AstraZeneca’s 30th anniversary in the Chinese market, he said his company aimed to be a patriotic company that “loves the Communist Party” in China.

In September, China detained a small number of current and former AstraZeneca employees for questioning. At the time, Bloomberg News reported that five people were detained for questioning about possible illegal activities, and that one of the investigations related to the firm’s collection of patient data.

The company did not provide details about the detention of staff in September, and a spokesman had no comment Wednesday on the status of detained employees.

AstraZeneca has been under investigation since 2021 on suspicion of fabricating genetic test results and insurance fraud related to the firm’s lung cancer drug Tagrisso, according to local Chinese media reports.

Former AstraZeneca executive Yin Min and current chief commercial officer of Chinese oncology drugmaker BeiGene was also cooperating with an investigation by Chinese authorities, local business media in China reported in recent days.

It is unclear whether Wang’s case, the September detention of AstraZeneca staff and other investigations are related.

AstraZeneca did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on the other cases. BeiGene also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters was unable to contact Yin for comment.

The company is one of the largest multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers in China, accounting for 13% of group revenues. Last year it announced plans to build a $450 million factory in China and signed a series of licensing deals with Chinese companies.