AstraZeneca has found its employees’ practices under the microscope of Chinese law enforcement years after an insurance fraud case.
Five current and former employees of AstraZeneca have been detained in China over possible violation of data privacy laws and illegal importation of unapproved drugs, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. No formal arrests—a separate, more serious step in the Chinese judicial system—have been announced.
In a statement to Fierce Pharma, an AstraZeneca spokesperson said the British pharma is aware that “a small number” of its employees in China are under investigation but has no further information to share at this point.
The individuals involved are Chinese citizens in AZ’s oncology division, the people told Bloomberg. Authorities are examining whether AZ’s collection of patient data violated China’s data privacy laws. In another probe, they are looking into some individuals’ involvement in the import of a liver cancer drug that’s not approved in mainland China, according to one of the people, as Bloomberg reports.
AZ in 2022 received the FDA’s green light for its immunotherapy combination of Imfinzi and Imjudo to treat liver cancer. Imjudo is not approved in China.
The investigation is being led by police in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, the same department that launched a medical insurance fraud case involving AZ about three years ago. Back in January 2022, Chinese authorities publicized a case in which several AZ employees in China were found to have tampered with genetic testing results of cancer patients to make them seem eligible for AZ’s drugs. In that case, AZ said it found the problem during an internal probe and voluntarily submitted the intel to local medical insurance authorities.
AZ is one of the largest multinational pharma companies in China. In 2023, China contributed $5.88 billion sales, or 12.8%, to AZ’s total haul. And cancer drugs have been a major growth pillar for AZ’s operations in the country. Of about 90,000 AZ employees worldwide, 16,000 are in China.
The British pharma has often touted its deep roots in China. Just last week, AZ announced that it will increase its investment in an under-construction nebulized inhaler manufacturing facility in Qingdao, China, for a second time, bringing the total to $750 million. The company had previously added $250 million to the original $450 million commitment.
During an investor event in May, AZ CEO Pascal Soriot highlighted China as a source of external innovation for the company, as manifested in its recent $1 billion acquisition of the cell therapy specialist Gracell Biotechnologies.
