AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN) shares fell 3.5% after it confirmed that five current and former employees in China are being held by police for questioning.
The individuals, all Chinese nationals, worked in the company's oncology division marketing cancer treatments, with the police detentions made in the city of Shenzhen earlier this summer.
One of the investigations is reportedly focused on potential breaches of China’s data privacy laws, particularly related to the company's collection of patient data, Bloomberg reported.
Additionally, authorities are examining whether the employees were involved in the illegal importation of a liver cancer drug that has not yet been approved for use in mainland China.
“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 response to an inquiry from the newswire.
AstraZeneca has been operating in China since 1993 and last year generated $5.90 billion in revenue in the country, representing more than 10% of its total.
The FTSE 100 company has also committed over $1 billion to new factory projects in China and continues to invest heavily in the region’s biopharmaceutical industry.
** Update: adds share price fall **