While it remains unclear why AstraZeneca China President Leon Wang has been detained, news of his arrest comes just days after it was reported that he was under investigation for alleged medical insurance fraud in the country.
AstraZeneca’s China President Leon Wang has been detained by Chinese authorities, according to several media reports.
It is unclear why Wang was arrested but the news comes just days after it was reported that the pharma’s country head was under investigation for alleged medical insurance fraud. In a previous statement to BioSpace, however, an AstraZeneca spokesperson insisted that “none of our current or former senior executives are being investigated for Medical Insurance Fraud.”
BioSpace has reached out to AstraZeneca for comment on Wang’s detainment and will update this article as more information is available.
In response to the initial reports of Wang’s investigation, AstraZeneca’s shares took an 8% hit, which according to Reuters erased $14 billion of its market value. On the share price movement, AstraZeneca released a statement calling media reports of the investigation “speculative,” adding in a separate note that its Chinese operations will continue under General Manager Michael Lai.
“If requested, AstraZeneca will fully cooperate with the investigation,” the company said.
China is among the largest pharma markets globally—and a major market for AstraZeneca specifically. Last year, the pharma reported a 7% increase in Chinese revenue, which totaled $5.9 billion. Among its top-performing products in the country include the cancer drug Tagrisso, which has seen “continued demand growth,” and the breast cancer therapy Enhertu, which has demonstrated “strong demand growth” in China.
In April 2023, AstraZeneca injected $450 million into its Chinese footprint for the construction of a factory dedicated to the manufacturing of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The pharma has also partnered with several Chinese biotechs to develop innovative medicines. In November 2023, AstraZeneca put $2 billion on the line for Shanghai’s Eccogene and its obesity candidate ECC5004. The bet has so far paid off for the company which earlier this week announced that the investigational GLP-1 receptor agonist ECC5004 lowered body weight by 5.8% after four weeks of treatment in healthy participants.
AstraZeneca last month also entered into a potential $2 billion cardio deal with CSPC Pharmaceutical Group for a pre-clinical lipid-lowering asset, being trialed for dyslipidemia.
Wang’s detainment comes amid rising geopolitical tensions between China and the U.S. Emblematic of this tension is the BIOSECURE Act, proposed legislation designed to prevent biopharma companies from working with Chinese partners—in effect keeping U.S. taxpayer dollars away from companies deemed national security threats.
Experts have raised concerns that the legislation—which was overwhelmingly passed by the House of Representatives and is currently awaiting action in the Senate—will cause major disruptions to the already-vulnerable drug supply chain.
