AstraZeneca Employees Detained in China Over Alleged Illegal Activities

Chinese police have detained five current and former AstraZeneca employees for suspected illegal activities. The detentions and investigations involve potential data privacy infringements and unauthorized drug imports. AstraZeneca acknowledged the investigation but provided no further details. The company's shares fell sharply following the news.

Police in China have detained five current and former employees of AstraZeneca for questioning regarding potential illegal activities, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

'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,' AstraZeneca stated. Shares of AstraZeneca dropped 2.8% at 1426 GMT, marking it as one of the biggest losers on the FTSE 100 index, and were on track for their worst performance since early February.

According to Bloomberg, the detained individuals are all Chinese citizens who marketed cancer drugs in the company's oncology division. One of the investigations pertains to AstraZeneca's collection of patient data and possible infringements on China's data-privacy laws. Chinese authorities are also scrutinizing some of the employees' involvement in importing the liver cancer drug Imjudo, which had not received approval for distribution in China, the report said. The investigation is being coordinated by police in Shenzhen, with the detentions occurring earlier this summer.

China accounted for nearly 13% of AstraZeneca's total sales in 2023.

(With inputs from agencies.)