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AstraZeneca executive under investigation by police in China

Leon Wang detained as Beijing seeks to curb bribery and corruption in pharmaceutical industry

The president of AstraZeneca’s China division has been placed under investigation by local police, as Beijing advances an anti-corruption crackdown in the healthcare sector.
The British pharmaceutical giant confirmed on Wednesday that Leon Wang, who forms part of its senior executive team, was cooperating with an investigation by Chinese authorities.
It did not provide any details about the investigation, although it comes months after police separately detained five current and former AstraZeneca employees.
The details reportedly followed an investigation into the import of unlicensed medication and potential breaches of data privacy.
Confirmation of Mr Wang’s arrest led to shares in AstraZeneca falling by as much as 5pc, hitting their lowest level in six months.
The decision to detain Mr Wang follows China’s efforts to curb corruption in the pharmaceutical industry, as officials have sought to stop drug smuggling and doctors accepting bribes for drug and medical equipment sales.
However, Beijing has also recently targeted data security and how personal information is protected across the pharma sector, forcing companies to keep information in China rather than sending it overseas.
The anti-corruption drive resulted in the AstraZeneca arrests earlier this summer, as authorities in Shenzhen investigated how the company collected patient data and whether employees were involved in the import of a liver cancer drug yet to be approved in China.
When addressing the issue in September, Sir Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, told Bloomberg that it was “impossible” for every employee to act as a compliance officer.
AstraZeneca is the largest foreign pharmaceutical company in China and makes 12pc of its revenues from the country. It has around 15,000 employees in the country, out of a total global workforce of 90,000 staff.
AstraZeneca said it would fully cooperate with the latest investigation if requested.
It comes after years of AstraZeneca expanding in the country, unlike some of its rivals that have been holding back amid concern over government scrutiny.
AstraZeneca was previously accused by Chinese authorities of tampering with gene-testing results, claiming at the time it had taken disciplinary action against some employees.
Sir Pascal last year praised China for encouraging innovation, saying it was producing “first-in-class products or new technologies that are going to shape the future of medicine”.
Speaking in April 2023, Sir Pascal also said AstraZeneca was spending heavily in the region as there was “huge opportunity for companies to help patients and to grow”.

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