Source - Alliance News

Sales in China have suffered for AstraZeneca PLC after the arrest of its country president, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing ‘two people familiar with the matter’.

Executives at the Cambridge, England-based pharmaceuticals maker expect an ‘evident’ hit to revenue in China, following the arrest of Leon Wang and other company executives, the newspaper reported.

Sales of oncology products, at the centre of the investigation by Chinese authorities, have been hurt in particular, the FT said, as local hospitals shun buying Astra’s drugs.

AstraZeneca earlier this month named Iskra Reic as its new international executive vice president, taking over responsibility for the group’s Chinese entity from Wang, who is on extended leave from the company while the investigation in China continues.

Chinese officials are probing a number of current and former AstraZeneca employees over potential illegal data collection on drug imports, AstraZeneca said in November. It said it took China’s investigations ‘very seriously’ and assured that it ‘has not received any notification that it is itself under investigation’.

AstraZeneca shares were down 1.6% to 10,334.00 pence on Wednesday afternoon in London.

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