Chinese authorities are thought to be investigating the importation of two cancer treatments that are manufactured by Britain's biggest pharmaceutical company.
Pascal Soriot, the AstraZeneca chief executive, said: "We take the matters in China very seriously. If requested, we will fully cooperate with the authorities."
Soriot, Britain's best-paid boss of a FTSE 100 company, who is in line for an £18.7m package this year, denied there had been a lack of oversight by headquarters, but conceded that in a large workforce of more than 16,000 in China "unfortunately some will be tempted" to maximise sales.
AstraZeneca had strengthened its 200-plus compliance team in the country, introducing field-based compliance officers, and used artificial intelligence to scrutinise sales staff's expense reports to identify any misbehaviour, he said.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 13, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian.
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