The office building of biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is seen on May 23, 2024 in Shanghai, China.
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AstraZenecaThe company said on Wednesday that its China president is under investigation and is cooperating with Chinese authorities, sending shares down as much as 5.3%.
It was unclear whether senior executive Wang Liang was detained by the Chinese government. When asked about Wang’s whereabouts, a company spokesman only reiterated that the executive was under investigation.
The Anglo-Swedish company has had one of the strongest market positions among Western drugmakers in China for years. The company has invested heavily in China, announcing plans last year to build a $450 million factory and recently signing multiple licensing deals with Chinese companies.
The drugmaker said in a statement that its China operations are “under the leadership of the current general manager of AstraZeneca China,” without providing further details.
“AstraZeneca will fully cooperate with the investigation if requested,” the statement said.
AstraZeneca shares were down 5.2% as of 1352 GMT.
In September, China detained five current and former AstraZeneca employees for questioning.
The company has not disclosed details about the September detentions, and a spokesman on Wednesday did not comment on the status of the detained employees.
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