Several AstraZeneca executives sentenced to prison for fraud in China

More than 100 AstraZeneca employees were also implicated in the case, Highwire reported on December 29. The case centers on fraudulent genetic testing to qualify for AstraZeneca’s lung cancer drug Tagrisso.

According to court documents, in 2019, two AstraZeneca sales representatives proposed a partnership with Genowise, a genetic testing company in China. Genowise provided fake test results showing that patients had the T790M gene mutation, thereby qualifying them for the drug Tagrisso.

Chen Bin, AstraZeneca's regional sales director for eastern China, encouraged the sales team to send cancer patients' biopsy samples to "genetic testing partners" to "convert" the results, making the test samples positive for the T790M mutation.

AstraZeneca sales and regional managers have admitted to falsifying test results. The Chinese investigation has led to decades-long prison sentences for senior executives, and the arrest of several company shareholders and executives.

Notably, China accounts for 13% of AstraZeneca's global revenue, making the incident a major blow to the multinational pharmaceutical giant.

AstraZeneca has yet to officially respond to the incident. However, this scandal could seriously affect the company's reputation and operations in one of the world's largest markets.

Cao Phong (according to Newsmax, Investopedia)