AstraZeneca China operating normally amid investigations

AstraZeneca China said on Wednesday evening that Leon Wang, executive vice-president, international and China unit president at AstraZeneca, is cooperating with an investigation in China.

AstraZeneca said that AstraZeneca China is operating normally under the current general manager's leadership and if requested, AstraZeneca will fully cooperate with the investigation.

The company's stock price at Nasdaq Stock Market dropped by more than 3 percent as of closing on Wednesday, with a total capitalization of $225 billion.

Previously, Eva Yin, chief commercial officer of BeiGene Greater China, was taken away by the Shenzhen Customs authorities to assist in an investigation on the afternoon of Oct 25. BeiGene is a Chinese biotech firm.

BeiGene said later in a statement that several employees are cooperating with relevant investigations, which, based on the current understanding, involve matters unrelated to BeiGene.

Economic Observer News reported several insiders revealing that Yin was taken away on suspicion of involvement in smuggling during her tenure at AstraZeneca. Along with her, several senior AstraZeneca executives were also taken away, the Chinese newspaper said.

Yin worked at AstraZeneca from 2006 to 2021, and served as general manager of AstraZeneca's oncology business unit in China from 2018 to 2021. In January 2022, Yin joined BeiGene as chief commercial officer of BeiGene Greater China.

Yin Mingyue contributed to this story