Astrazeneca’s boss said the company is ‘working very closely’ with China after the arrest of a handful of staff.
The FTSE 100 drugs giant last week revealed a ‘small number’ of employees were under investigation in the country, where it made £4.5billion of revenue last year, or 13 per cent of its total.
The Chinese authorities are looking into whether AstraZeneca breached privacy laws when collecting patient data as well as the distribution of a liver cancer drug that has not been approved in mainland China.
Corruption probe: Astrazeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot (pictured) said the company was taking the allegations ‘very seriously’
Breaking his silence over the investigation yesterday, chief executive Pascal Soriot launched a staunch defence of his firm’s operations there.
Asked about the arrests during an interview with Bloomberg TV, he said: ‘It’s something we take very seriously, of course.
‘It is important, though, to remember the context. It is a small number – eight or nine employees – that are affected by this investigation.
‘We are the largest pharmaceutical company in China. We have almost 17,000 employees.’
Soriot also dismissed suggestions the company should spin off its Chinese business.
‘It is a very important part of our company,’ he said. ‘There are lots of patients who need our medicines in China, and China has become a very important part of global innovation in our industry.
There are lots of new medicines invented in China that will benefit people around the world.’
The probe has cast a shadow over AstraZeneca and shares fell nearly 4pc on the day news of the arrests emerged last week.
They fell more than 5 per cent in early trading yesterday after it said its experimental precision drug Dato-DXd did little to improve overall survival among lung cancer patients.
Soriot, 65, said the slide did not take account of the overall strength of the business’s drugs portfolio.
The shares eventually closed down 2.4 per cent, or 306p, to 12406p. They are more than 7 per cent below last week’s peak. That has trimmed AstraZeneca’s value from £207.5billion to £192.3billion.
AstraZeneca last month became the first ever British company to reach a £200billion valuation as it cemented its place as the biggest firm in the FTSE 100.
DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS
AJ Bell
AJ Bell
Easy investing and ready-made portfolios
Hargreaves Lansdown
Hargreaves Lansdown
Free fund dealing and investment ideas
interactive investor
interactive investor
Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month
Saxo
Saxo
Get £200 back in trading fees
Trading 212
Trading 212
Free dealing and no account fee
Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.
Compare the best investing account for you
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk