02:09 PM EDT, 09/10/2024 (MT Newswires) -- AstraZeneca ( AZN ) is "working very closely" with Chinese authorities probing the company's employees for possible violations, Chief Executive Pascal Soriot told Bloomberg, according to a Tuesday report.

Authorities are investigating whether the company's collection of patient data violated data privacy laws, according to the report. They are also probing the involvement of some AstraZeneca ( AZN ) employees in the import of a liver cancer drug not approved for distribution in mainland China, the report said.

There have have been eight or nine arrests of the drugmaker's employees so far and the company is coordinating with Chinese authorities on the matter, Soriot said.

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