AstraZeneca boss Pascal Soriot has said he is taking a deepening criminal investigation into his company’s business in China “very seriously.”

Soriot pledged on Tuesday to “cooperate fully with the authorities” of the country after the arrest of its Chinese president, Leon Wang.

The group revealed last week that Wang had been detained and that two former and two current executives were under investigation in the country over allegations of illegally importing cancer drugs.

AstraZeneca added that “to the company’s knowledge, the investigations include allegations of health insurance fraud, illegal drug importation and personal information breaches,” but said it had not received notification that the company itself was being investigated.

Soriot said: “We take matters in China very seriously. If requested, we will fully cooperate with the authorities. “We remain committed to delivering innovative, life-changing medicines for patients in China.”

The allegations are said to be related to the importation of medicines and data privacy violations. According to Bloomberg, employees are alleged to have smuggled cancer treatments such as Imjudo to China.

The arrests are believed to be independent of an ongoing medical fraud investigation that has so far resulted in the About 100 former Chinese employees sentenced.

The health insurance investigation concerns claims that genetic tests were altered so that some patients could be eligible for insurance coverage to receive Tagrisso, a lung cancer treatment.

AstraZeneca has focused on increasing its sales in China for years, and Wang is credited with expanding the business since he joined in 2013. Last year, the China division accounted for 13 percent of its revenue and AstraZeneca has become into one of the largest foreign drug manufacturers in the world. country.

The update on the China investigation came alongside quarterly results. AstraZeneca announced a 19 per cent rise in total revenue to $39.2bn (£30.6bn) for the first nine months of the year.

However, AstraZeneca’s legal problems have overshadowed its strong performance, and shares have fallen 10 percent over the past week.

As problems in China increase, the company is refocusing on the United States. The company said on Tuesday it would invest $3.5bn (£2.7bn) to expand its business there.

The UK-based drugmaker will invest in growing its research and manufacturing operations in the United States by the end of 2026. That includes $2 billion earmarked to create more than 1,000 jobs.

AstraZeneca said the company’s development in the United States was a “key element” of its strategy. The United States is its largest market, accounting for 44 percent of its revenue.

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