On Wednesday, AstraZeneca (LON: AZN) named Iskra Reic as its new international executive vice president (EVP), taking over from Leon Wang, who was detained by Chinese authorities in October.
Reic will continue as head of AstraZeneca’s vaccines and immune therapies business, but will be moving to Shanghai to carry out her new expanded role, a spokesperson told Reuters.
Her appointment comes as the company aims to stabilize its Chinese operations even as it acknowledges it does not know basic facts about Wang’s detention, such as why he is being investigated.
Wang is on extended leave while under investigation in China, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said in a statement. He remains an employee of the company, a spokesperson reiterated.
Last month, AstraZeneca (LON: AZN) said that in addition to the Chinese authorities’ investigation into Wang, the company is also aware of two separate and ongoing probes by the Chinese government into its activities in the country. One involves suspected medical insurance fraud, and the other relates to the importation of cancer drugs from Hong Kong into mainland China.
Wang was AstraZeneca China president from 2014 but later took on the additional role of EVP for the international region, the company’s website shows.
In late October, AstraZeneca said its Chinese operations were under the leadership of Michael Lai, the current general manager of AstraZeneca China.
But AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said in an earnings call in November that the company had very little information about the investigation into Wang, which has hit the company’s shares.
The stock has fallen 9% since the investigation into Wang was announced in late October and is down about 21% from a record high hit in early September this year. The shares closed down 2.9%, at 10,480 pence.
