China detains AstraZeneca staff in data, drug-import probes, Bloomberg News reports

(Reuters) -Police in China have detained five current and former employees of AstraZeneca for questioning about potential illegal activities, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

"We are aware a small number of our employees in China are under investigation and we have no further information to share at this point," AstraZeneca said in a statement.

AstraZeneca shares were down 2.8% at 1426 GMT, among the biggest losers on the FTSE 100 index and were on track for their worst day since early February.

The individuals being held are all Chinese citizens who marketed cancer drugs in AstraZeneca's oncology division, according to Bloomberg.

One of the investigations is related to AstraZeneca's collection of patient data and whether that infringed China’s data-privacy laws, the report said.

Chinese authorities are also looking into some of the people's involvement in importing liver cancer drug Imjudo that had not been approved for distribution in the country, it added, citing one source.

The investigation is being led by police in Shenzhen, and the detentions were made earlier in the summer, the report said.

China accounted for nearly 13% of AstraZeneca's total sales in 2023.

(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal and Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)