Chinese police have reportedly detained five current and former AstraZeneca employees as part of an investigation into possible breaches related to data privacy and importing unlicensed medications.
The detentions took place earlier this summer, and targeted Chinese citizens who marketed cancer drugs for the oncology division of the British pharmaceutical company, according to Bloomberg.
Police are investigating whether AstraZeneca employees were involved in importing a drug meant to treat liver cancer, but which had not been approved for distribution across mainland China.
The investigation, which is being led by police in the Shenzhen region, is also examining the way the company collected patient data, and whether that may have broken China’s privacy laws.
AstraZeneca said in a statement: “We are aware a small number of our employees in China are under investigation and we have no further information to share at this point.”
It comes amid a wider anti-corruption drive by Beijing over the past year, with authorities trying to cracking down on kickbacks and the misuse of public funds in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector.
AstraZeneca has about 16,000 staff in China, which makes up 13% of the company’s revenues, or about $6bn of a total $44bn (£33bn). That scale makes AstraZeneca, best known in Britain for its Covid-19 vaccine that was developed in conjunction with Oxford University during the pandemic, China’s largest overseas drugmaker in terms of sales.
The British firm, which has about 90,000 employees around the world, previously targeted Chinese biotech firms for acquisitions and discussed strategies for growth in the country. On purchasing the rare disease specialist Alexion for $39bn in 2020, AstraZeneca identified China as an important market to grow the company.
But last year the company reportedly considered spinning off its business in China and listing its shares in Hong Kong or Shanghai to shield it from rising tensions between China and the US and its allies.
It was hoped the move would protect the company – which is run by the FTSE 100’s best-paid chief executive, Pascal Soriot – from any potential crackdown on overseas businesses by Chinese authorities.
There is now growing speculation that geopolitical tensions could reach new levels if Donald Trump wins the US presidential election in November. Comments by Trump’s running mate and prospective vice-president, JD Vance, have been particularly pointed. He told CBS in May “I don’t like China,” as he bluntly blamed the country for problems in the US jobs market.
