AstraZeneca’s China president is under investigation in mainland China, the drug company said on Wednesday.
Leon Wang was described as cooperating “with an ongoing investigation”, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology company said in a statement.
“Our China operations continue under the leadership of the current general manager of AstraZeneca China,” the British-Swedish company added.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
The company has yet to elaborate whether Wang is in custody, nor have his whereabouts been disclosed.
AstraZeneca China said it would “fully cooperate with the investigation”.
According to his LinkedIn page, Wang joined AstraZeneca in 2013 and became the company’s country president in 2014. He has served as an executive vice-president responsible for commercial operations in China since 2017.
AstraZeneca entered mainland China in 1993 and is now the largest foreign pharmaceutical company in the country. China is AstraZeneca’s third-largest market, according to the company’s website.
The drug maker’s operations in China generated nearly US$5.9 billion in revenue last year, according to its annual report. That accounted for 13 per cent of the company’s total revenue.
AstraZeneca’s shares on the Nasdaq Composite were down by 2.14 per cent at 2.30pm Wednesday, US Eastern time.
The nature of the investigation remains unclear, but this appears to be the first case in recent years of a high-ranking executive for a foreign company being placed under investigation in mainland China.
Following a series of raids on foreign advisory firms’ mainland operations last year, many in China’s expat business community have grown alarmed over their employees’ safety in the country.
The unease extends to what many have said is a lack of transparency in mainland regulations concerning foreign investment as well as data protections and measures invoking national security.
The development also came as pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors in the country are swept up in a nationwide anti-corruption campaign, which has ensnared more than 30 executives from Chinese drug makers since last year.
The investigation into Wang came months after it was reported that police detained several AstraZeneca employees – all Chinese nationals – and summoned dozens for questioning on suspicion of bringing an unapproved cancer drug into the country.
Citing sources, The Wall Street Journal last month reported that the investigation of AstraZeneca’s China-based employees had to do with their bringing a liver cancer drug called Imjudo into the country. The drug has not yet been approved for sale in China.
The investigation also involved AstraZeneca’s practices regarding the collection and transfer of patient and customer data.
Last week, BeiGene, a cancer treatment R&D company, said in a statement on its WeChat account that one of its employees was “cooperating with the relevant investigation”, adding that it “was not related to BeiGene”.
Citing sources, the Economic Observer, a mainland newspaper, earlier identified the BeiGene employee as Eva Yin, the company’s chief commercial officer for greater China. Several AstraZeneca employees were detained along with Yin, the report said.
According to BeiGene’s website, Yin joined the company in January 2022 after working at AstraZeneca for more than 15 years during which she held various positions, including as general manager of the company’s oncology business in China.
More from South China Morning Post:
- China on track to break 2023 ‘tigers’ record as top anti-corruption watchdog nets 44
- China’s anti-corruption net has risk-averse officials afraid to innovate
- Safety concerns behind Hong Kong abandoning AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccines, new book says
- Why pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca chose Hong Kong for new R&D hub focused on oncology, rare diseases, and gene and cell therapies
- AstraZeneca to build US$1.5 billion cancer drug plant in Singapore, reduce industry’s reliance on China
For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2024.
