On the evening of October 30th local time, AstraZeneca, a multinational biopharmaceutical company jointly owned by the UK and Sweden, announced that Wang Lei, Global Executive Vice President, International Business Chairman, and China President, is cooperating with the investigation in China.
The company stated that if requested, AstraZeneca will also "fully cooperate with the investigation". The company did not elaborate on why Wang Lei was investigated, nor did it specify whether he was detained or where he was located.
Subsequently, Lai Minglong, Senior Vice President of AstraZeneca Global, General Manager of AstraZeneca China, and General Manager of Oncology Business, released an internal letter stating that the company is operating normally and he will continue to lead the development of AstraZeneca's various businesses in China.
As soon as the news of Wang Lei's investigation came out, the London stock price of AstraZeneca (AZN) fell by more than 5%.
AstraZeneca is the largest Western pharmaceutical company in China, with decades of deep cultivation and investment. On October 25th last week, former executive Yin Min of the company was taken away by the Shenzhen anti smuggling department on suspicion of involvement in smuggling. Several of her former subordinates at AstraZeneca have also been taken away on charges of insurance fraud, smuggling, and infringement of citizens' personal information. When Wang Lei responded to this matter, he said, "I don't have much to say, and I don't know that much about it either
Wang Lei is one of the most famous pharmaceutical executives in China, playing a crucial role in the development of AstraZeneca in the country. Wang Lei's LinkedIn page states that he joined AstraZeneca in 2013 and became the President of the China region the following year. Later, he also served as the Global Executive Vice President of the group.
AstraZeneca's financial report shows that in 2023, the company's revenue in China was $5.876 billion, with a global market share of 13%. In terms of revenue, AstraZeneca is the best-selling Western pharmaceutical company in China.
The size of China's drug market is second only to the United States, and AstraZeneca continues to deepen its presence in China. In 2023, it announced an investment of $450 million to build a factory and reached authorization agreements with several Chinese companies. In March of this year, AstraZeneca signed an agreement with Wuxi City to invest $475 million in the construction of a new small molecule drug factory in Wuxi High tech Zone.
Wuxi is the birthplace of AstraZeneca, and its predecessor AstraZeneca settled in Wuxi in 1993. AstraZeneca has invested at least $1 billion in Wuxi over the past 30 years, with the highest amount expected in 2024.
Not only that, at the end of August this year, AstraZeneca announced in Qingdao that it would increase its inhalation aerosol production base project to 750 million US dollars.
However, in recent years, AstraZeneca has been embroiled in numerous scandals in China, including allegations of insurance fraud and smuggling, as well as investigations into multiple executives and former executives.
It is speculated that Wang Lei's investigation this time is likely to involve the above-mentioned matters.
Repeated exposure of insurance fraud scandals
The AstraZeneca insurance fraud case is a long investigated series of cases. As early as January and February 2022, the National Healthcare Security Administration and the Shenzhen Healthcare Security Bureau successively announced the AstraZeneca insurance fraud case.
According to the announcement, in July 2021, based on the reported clues, the Shenzhen Medical Insurance Bureau found that AstraZeneca staff were suspected of fraud and insurance fraud. Later, under the guidance of the National Medical Insurance Bureau, they jointly conducted a special investigation with the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau and other relevant units.
At that time, the announcement stated that the special task force had cracked the case through meticulous work, dismantled a fraud gang suspected of tampering with the genetic test results of cancer patients to defraud medical insurance funds, arrested 17 individuals involved, and taken criminal coercive measures in accordance with the law. The case is currently under further investigation and processing.
The insurance fraud case involves AstraZeneca's heavyweight lung cancer drug, Axitinib (trade name: Tiresa). Prior to this, the Sichuan Provincial Medical Insurance Bureau also exposed typical cases in April 2021, two of which also involved Tairuisha's insurance fraud.
As a third-generation lung cancer drug, Terassa was approved for second-line treatment of EGFR TKI resistant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR T790M mutation positive and first-line treatment of EGFR mutant NSCLC in China in March 2017 and August 2019, respectively. The two indications entered the national medical insurance in October 2018 and 2020 respectively.
Phoenix Network's "Storm Eye" reported that since the investigation of the insurance fraud case in the second half of 2021, more than 100 pharmaceutical agents, about 10 regional managers, and 3 directors from AstraZeneca in Shenzhen, Fujian, Shanghai, Jiangxi, Chongqing, and other places have been involved in the investigation, including Zuo Yingquan, the sales director of the southern region, Chen Bin, the director of the eastern region, and Wang Gang, the manager of the Jiangxi region.
In July 2024, AstraZeneca partner and in vitro diagnostic company Rui Ang Gene (688217) announced that its actual controller, chairman and general manager, and core technical personnel Xiong Hui, actual controller, director and deputy general manager Xiong Jun, and deputy general managers Xue Yuwei and He Junyan were suspected of illegal business operations. The first three were placed under residential surveillance, while the latter was criminally detained.
Ruiang Gene was founded by siblings Xiong Hui and Xiong Jun, while Xue Yuwei joined in June 2023. Previously, Xue Yuwei served as the Deputy Director of Marketing at AstraZeneca for several years, involved in tumor companion diagnosis and lung cancer testing/innovation business.
Ruiang Gene mentioned in its 2023 annual report that its digital PCR platform T790M product received full marks in the evaluation of tumor peripheral blood enrichment testing from multiple suppliers of AstraZeneca, with a detection rate about twice that of other competitors. Subsequently, it deeply cooperated with AstraZeneca in the EGFR-T790M liquid biopsy field and provided T790M liquid biopsy services.
The test directly targets Theresa in the aforementioned insurance fraud case, and a positive test result is a prerequisite for Theresa to receive medical insurance payment.
By October 2024, Rui Ang Gene further announced that the mandatory measures for the four executives mentioned above had been changed to criminal detention, and the suspected charges had been changed to fraud, and that the relevant matters were still under further investigation.
In October of the same year, an article titled "An Open Letter to the President of AstraZeneca: Companies Make Money, Prison Employees" written by the family of Diao Liuyin, the leader of the Minbei Group 2 of AstraZeneca employees, circulated in the industry. In a judgment of the Jin'an District Court in Fuzhou City, it was stated that the first defense opinion of the lawyer was that Wang Lei, the president of AstraZeneca, was aware of the abnormally high positive rate and encouraged frontline drug agents to increase the positive rate, which has been suspected of a crime and should be subject to supplementary investigation
Trapped in smuggling incidents
On the other hand, the issue of AstraZeneca China's involvement in smuggling also surfaced earlier in July 2024. Five current and former employees of AstraZeneca have been investigated for suspected data privacy breaches and drug smuggling. AstraZeneca confirmed that a small number of employees in China are under investigation, but stated that there is no further information to share.
According to industry sources, the smuggling case involves AstraZeneca's CTLA4 monoclonal antibody, Tremelimumab. The drug was approved in the United States in October 2022 and is used in combination with Duvalide monotherapy for first-line treatment of liver cancer. At present, Duvalimumab (trade name: Infineon) has been approved in China and entered the national medical insurance in 2021, while Tiximab has not yet been approved.
This matter also saw more progress earlier this month. On October 25th, Yin Min, then Chief Business Officer of BeiGene (688235/06160) Greater China, was taken away for investigation, along with Xie Qiong, Vice President of AstraZeneca and Head of the Oncology, Urology, Gynecology, and Women's Oncology divisions.
On the same day, BeiGene claimed that this matter had nothing to do with the company, and industry voices believed that Yin Min's removal also involved his work during his time at AstraZeneca. According to reports from the Economic Observer and Time Finance, Yin Min was taken away by the Shenzhen anti smuggling department and is involved in the AstraZeneca smuggling incident.
Before joining BeiGene, Yin Min worked at AstraZeneca for 15 years, holding various executive positions including finance, market strategy, compliance, and commercialization. In June 2018, Yin Min was appointed as the Vice President and Head of the Oncology Business Unit of AstraZeneca China. In January 2019, she was promoted to the General Manager of AstraZeneca's Oncology Business Unit in China, directly responsible for the lung cancer drug Tiresa, which was later involved in "insurance fraud".
During the same period, according to the Phoenix website "Storm Eye", some personnel from the marketing department and testing team of Tairuisha were also investigated. According to the Economic Observer, Shi Yuanjie, former head of AstraZeneca's Infineon product line, was investigated for suspected smuggling. AstraZeneca's former Vice President in China and head of the lung cancer targeted therapy and tumor immunotherapy related business units were also investigated for suspected infringement of citizens' personal information.
In addition, in early September this year, AstraZeneca confirmed that a "small number" of employees were investigated by Chinese police in Shenzhen. The police have detained five current and former employees of AstraZeneca, all of whom are Chinese citizens selling cancer drugs in AstraZeneca's oncology division; Their practice of collecting patient information is suspected of violating relevant Chinese regulations, and they are also suspected of importing drugs that have not yet been approved for sale in China.
The mutual achievement between professional managers and pharmaceutical companies
There is currently no accurate information indicating that Wang Lei's investigation is related to the series of events mentioned above.
According to Interface News, in the pharmaceutical industry in China, it is almost impossible to find a second foreign-funded pharmaceutical company besides Wang Lei and AstraZeneca that has such a close relationship with its leader that the outside world is accustomed to equating the two. That's also why the news of Wang Lei being investigated shook the industry like a nuclear bomb explosion.
In the ten years since joining AstraZeneca China, Wang Lei has deeply imprinted his own brand on this foreign-funded pharmaceutical company, and through various distinctive and distinctive practices, has made himself a controversial legend.
Wang Lei did not come from a medical background. After graduating from Shanghai International Studies University in 1993, Wang Lei worked as a foreign language tour guide for three years, mainly leading foreign guests to visit domestic scenic spots. After three rounds of resume submissions, Wang Lei, who had no background in medicine, finally passed the interview with his good English speaking skills and outgoing personality, and secured an administrative position as Assistant General Manager at Roche China.
He worked at Roche China for 16 years until he left in 2013, working in multiple departments including human resources, research and development, and marketing. Before leaving, he was almost involved in the marketing department of all Roche products. Roche China's rich rotation experience has also enabled Wang Lei to deeply understand the pain points faced by multinational pharmaceutical companies in establishing themselves in China. This experience forged his business perspective and laid the foundation for his future success at AstraZeneca.
In 2013, Wang Lei left Roche China and joined AstraZeneca China. At that time, it was the lowest period for AstraZeneca, as its three core products, esomeprazole, quetiapine, and rosuvastatin, entered the patent cliff, causing a sharp decline in AstraZeneca's revenue and profits. To some extent, it is under the leadership of Wang Lei that the high-speed growth of AstraZeneca's Chinese market recovery has saved the predicament that once hovered on the edge of the cliff.
From 2011 to 2016, AstraZeneca's revenue fell from $33.591 billion to $23.002 billion, and its net profit fell from $9.95 billion to $3.552 billion. During this period, AstraZeneca received a sky high acquisition offer of $117 billion from Pfizer.
After joining AstraZeneca, Wang Lei was initially responsible for the digestive, respiratory, and anesthesia business departments. The breakthrough of AstraZeneca's respiratory business in the Chinese market is undoubtedly his primary achievement.
In hindsight, the key is that Wang Lei inspired AstraZeneca China's business model transformation, no longer selling a single drug, but the entire solution related to health or treatment. AstraZeneca has successfully launched a large-scale "nebulization room" construction plan in China, covering a wide range of primary healthcare institutions. By establishing respiratory nebulization centers in primary hospitals, AstraZeneca has significantly improved its ability in primary diagnosis and treatment, and stabilized the respiratory drug market. Especially this measure has extended the lifecycle of expired patented drugs such as Pumik Ling Shu in China.
In December 2014, one year later, Wang Lei was promoted to the position of President of AstraZeneca China. This year, the Chinese market has just become AstraZeneca's second largest market, with revenue of 2.242 billion US dollars, accounting for 8.45% of the total revenue.
In 2017, Wang Lei reached the pinnacle of his career, rising two levels within a year to become the Global Vice President and President of International Business and China at AstraZeneca, responsible for emerging market countries and regions such as Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Russia, Africa, and Central and South America. This promotion set a new record for the highest position of Chinese in the management system of multinational pharmaceutical enterprises.
In that year, the Chinese market had already contributed $2.955 billion to AstraZeneca, accounting for 13.15% of the total revenue for that year. As of the latest disclosed 2023 annual report, the Chinese market contributed revenue of up to $5.876 billion, accounting for approximately 13% of AstraZeneca's total revenue.
Among them, the rapid launch of Tairuisha, a heavyweight product involved in insurance fraud cases, in China is a landmark achievement. From submitting the application in 2016 to officially going public in 2017, Tairuisha's listing process in China only took six months, breaking the speed of accelerated approval. In 2018, the year after its listing, Tairuisha successfully entered the national medical insurance system. In 2020, through renewal negotiations, the price was reduced by more than 60%.
Until now, Theresa remains AstraZeneca's flagship product in China. According to AstraZeneca's financial report, in 2023, Theresa's global total sales revenue reached $5.8 billion, with significant contributions from the Chinese market.
Currently, China has become AstraZeneca's second-largest market globally. In 2019 and 2020, AstraZeneca's revenue contribution in China exceeded 20% at one point. Even if it falls to about 13% in 2023 due to external acquisitions, this proportion still ranks first among many multinational pharmaceutical companies.
Controversy under Fame
AstraZeneca also has a high presence in China. When a group of domestic pharmaceutical companies raised the banner of internationalization and going global, AstraZeneca announced at its 30th anniversary celebration in China in May 2023 that it would become a more localized multinational corporation (MNC). Active localization is also the biggest feature of AstraZeneca China, including the establishment of an industrial fund in cooperation with CICC Capital, the establishment of a regional headquarters in Shanghai, and the construction of industrial parks in cooperation with multiple local governments, all of which have pioneered the establishment of foreign pharmaceutical companies in China.
Therefore, AstraZeneca has also earned the title of "the most foreign-owned enterprise" in the industry.
During this period, Wang Lei often wore his iconic redesigned Zhongshan suit and spoke in public with a down-to-earth demeanor, which showed his completely different temperament from other professional managers and executives of multinational pharmaceutical companies in China. Therefore, whether for Wang Lei himself or for AstraZeneca, their approach has also gained a certain degree of popularity and even imitation in the industry.
Under great fame, there are mixed reviews.
It cannot be denied that AstraZeneca, led by Wang Lei, has achieved rapid expansion and deep market penetration in China. However, the risks associated with its radical style gradually became apparent until the incident occurred.
Wang Lei's last WeChat Moments stayed on October 29th, where he shared and congratulated the 30th anniversary of China Europe International Business School.