AstraZeneca China CEO Under Investigation, Stock Price Drops by 5.3%
AstraZeneca announced on Wednesday that their China CEO is currently under investigation. Following this news, the joint British-Swiss company’s stock price plummeted by as much as 5.3%.
According to reports from Reuters, it is still unclear whether AstraZeneca’s China CEO, Leon Wang, has been detained by the Chinese authorities. When asked about Wang’s whereabouts, a company spokesperson only reiterated that the executive is “cooperating with an ongoing investigation.”
Previously, there were reports of a former senior AstraZeneca executive being detained by the Chinese authorities.
In a statement, the company mentioned that its China operations are being led by the current General Manager under AstraZeneca China, without providing further details. LinkedIn profiles indicate that Michael Lai, who holds a medical doctorate, holds this position.
The statement emphasized that “AstraZeneca will fully cooperate with any requests for investigation.”
As of 13:52 Greenwich Mean Time, AstraZeneca’s stock price had dropped by 5.2%.
On September 5th, the company had revealed to Agence France-Presse that five current and former AstraZeneca employees had been detained by the Chinese authorities. Reports suggested they were being questioned regarding possible illegal data collection and illegal drug imports.
The company has yet to provide detailed information regarding the September detentions, and on Wednesday, a spokesperson did not disclose the current status of the detained employees.
Bloomberg had previously reported that these detained employees, all Chinese nationals, worked in the company’s oncology department selling anti-cancer drugs.
According to AstraZeneca’s website, Leon Wang joined AstraZeneca China in March 2013 and became the CEO of the subsidiary the following year. The website states that AstraZeneca China is the “largest pharmaceutical company” in China.
Apart from serving as AstraZeneca’s China CEO, Wang also holds the position of Executive Vice President for International Markets at AstraZeneca, responsible for driving “sustainable growth strategies” in international markets including China.
Before joining AstraZeneca, Wang held various positions at Roche.
Amidst China’s ongoing economic downturn and intensified crackdown by the Chinese Communist Party, concerns about the safety of foreign company employees in China are escalating. It is widely known that the Chinese legal system lacks transparency, and Chinese authorities can arbitrarily detain individuals for months or even years.
Before joining BeiGene, Yin Min worked at AstraZeneca for 15 years, with some time spent as head of their oncology business in China.
According to a report in the Economic Observer last week, several AstraZeneca employees were detained along with Yin Min.