Chinese police have arrested five people who are or have been employed by the Swedish-British pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca, reports news agency Bloomberg, citing sources.
It concerns Chinese citizens who worked on marketing drugs for cancer treatment. Among other things, suspicions have been raised that they have violated Chinese data protection laws in connection with the collection of patient data.
It is also about involvement in the import of drugs for liver cancer treatment that have not been approved by Chinese authorities, according to a source.
The investigation is being led by police authorities in Shenzhen and the five individuals were detained as early as last summer, according to sources.
Astra Zeneca has declined to comment on the information and the police authority in Shenzhen has chosen not to answer questions about the case.