AstraZeneca Shares Plummet Due To Insurance Fraud In China

AstraZeneca shares hit an all-time low since 2020 due to one of the largest insurance fraud case in China

AstraZeneca shares hit an all-time low since 2020 on Tuesday, wiping of 14 billion Pounds. This drop in share prices comes after reports surrounding the company’s China unit being implicated in an insurance scam emerged. Dozens of senior executives are being implicated in what is being described as one of the largest insurance fraud cases.

The company president Leon Wang who is under investigation is cooperating with the authorities. Along with the president, the public security team, supervisory commission and other relevant departments are also under investigation. Since the announcement, the Anglo-Swedish company’s shares have fallen by 8.4%, the largest margin to this day. These allegations are not the first of their kind for AstraZeneca, as similar claims of fraud have been levied in Shenzhen, Fujian and Jiangxi over the past three years. Undisclosed sources have pointed out that these cases amount to the largest case of insurance fraud in China’s pharmaceutical sector.

The Chinese media has reported that medical representatives have been found fake prescriptions to allow for patients to buy the company’s lung cancer drug- Tagrisso, through the state’s medical insurance scheme. While AstraZeneca officials have denied commenting on these media reports dubbing them as ‘speculative’ in nature, they have assured full cooperation to the Chinese authorities and are committed to maintaining their operations and delivery of medicines in the country.

One of the largest pharmaceutical companies in China, the multinational cooperation’s revenue account for 13% (US $44 billion) of its total revenue. In 2023, the company signed several licensing deals with Chinese firms in a bid to build a US $450 million factory in the country. Despite conducting operations in China for nearly three decades, the company is no stranger to such controversies surrounding sales and prescriptions.

In September of this year reports emerged that months earlier, Chinese officials had detained five current and former employees of the drugmaker in an investigation looking into possible data privacy breaches and the import of unlicensed medications. The police were investigating whether AstraZeneca employees were involved in marketing a drug to treat liver cancer which was yet to be approved for distribution across China.

Since this news broke, Chinese authorities have arrested several other high-ranking authorities as more such similar cases have come to light in other parts of the country. This case escalated when AstraZeneca’s former China oncology business chief, Eva Yin came under investigation. This quickly prompted Wang to agree to cooperate with the probe. While Yin was detained for engaging in anti-smuggling activities, the more recent emerging details are offering a clearer picture of the case being built against the company’s China unit.

China is one of the largest markets for the company, particularly after the development of the Covishield vaccine in conjunction with Oxford University. The company did announce its official plans to set up a factory in China. It also acquired the Shanghai-based corporation Gracell Biotechnologies for US $1.2 billion earlier this year.

The consecutive frauds and scandals are finally negatively impacting the company’s shares. In June of last year, reports suggested that AstraZeneca was considering moving away from China in the wake of rising geopolitical tensions. The corporation, however, did not act on acknowledge these reports, calling them rumours. The recent turn of events has not helped the company.

While trade wars between the Western world and China will be an ongoing phenomenon in international trade, it remains to be seen whether multinational companies such as AstraZeneca will put up with such repetitive scandals, especially if they incur such large-scale losses. It is likely that the further developments of this insurance fraud case will determine not only the stock market prices of this company, but also AstraZeneca’s very future in China.