Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Pharma giant AstraZeneca says China chief under investigation
ADVERTISEMENT


Beijing, Oct 31 (AFP) Oct 31, 2024
The head of multinational pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca's China arm is under investigation in the country, the firm said.

Leon Wang, president of AstraZeneca China, is "cooperating with an ongoing investigation by Chinese authorities", the company said in a statement Wednesday.

"Our China operations continue under the leadership of the current General Manager of AstraZeneca China," it said, adding: "If requested, AstraZeneca will fully cooperate with the investigation."

China's foreign ministry referred a question about the probe to the "competent authorities" on Thursday, without giving further details.

"The Chinese government welcomes foreign enterprises to invest and do business in China, and will guarantee their legal rights and interests in accordance with the law," ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

China is a key market for AstraZeneca, developer of a Covid-19 jab widely administered throughout the world during the coronavirus pandemic.

In September, the firm confirmed several employees were under investigation in China after a report said they were being questioned about potentially illegal data collection and drug imports.

The probes involved five current and former employees of the firm -- all with Chinese citizenship -- and were being led by authorities in the southern city of Shenzhen, Bloomberg said.

One investigation related to the firm's collection of patient data, which authorities suspect may have breached Chinese privacy laws, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the situation.

Another probe related to imports of a liver cancer drug that had not been approved in mainland China, according to Bloomberg.

The firm, headquartered in the United Kingdom, has 90,000 employees globally.

Global firms have faced an increasingly difficult business environment in China in recent years, industry groups say, citing a lack of transparency on data laws and prolonged detentions of employees in the country.

mya-mjw/oho

ASTRAZENECA


ADVERTISEMENT





Space News from SpaceDaily.com
UK opens competitive bid for GBP 75 million orbital cleanup mission
UK invests $191 mn in European satellite firm Eutelsat
Bearings Used in Space Technologies: Engineering for the Final Frontier

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Atomic 6 receives 2M Space Force award to advance next generation solar arrays
ESA and Neuraspace develop autonomous satellite navigation technologies
Planet secures 240 million euro satellite services contract with German government

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
France says Australia defence ties repaired after submarine row
Trump: U.S. to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine, EU to pay bill
Ukraine, Russia trade blows in escalating spy war

24/7 News Coverage
Ancient zircon data reveals tectonic origin of Earth's first continental crust
Autonomous sub explores unexplored trench depths to reveal critical mineral clues
Europe launches first geostationary atmospheric sounder to boost extreme weather forecasts



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.