(Reuters) – Astrazeneca announced on Tuesday that it could be fined up to $ 8 million (7.02 million euros) for unpaid import taxes in China, while the British pharmaceutical group seeks to stimulate its activities in China after a series of scandals.
Despite a solid portfolio, Astrazeneca has to face opposite winds on its two largest markets, the United States and China: scandals in China, the threat of American customs duties on pharmaceutical products and the trade war between Beijing and Washington.
According to Astrazeneca, the authorities of the city of Shenzhen estimated the unpaids at around 1.6 million dollars and that a fine between one to five times this sum could be imposed on him if the company was found guilty.
The group said that “to its knowledge”, this amount would be linked to its grassive breast cancer medication.
Astrazeneca reported an operating profit of 2.49 dollars per share in the first quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations, but its turnover of 13.59 billion is lower than the consensus.
In February, the group said it could potentially be confronted with a fine of up to 4.5 million dollars in China for unresolved import taxes linked to imfinzi and imjudo drugs, adding that the survey could include grass.
Astrazeneca said on Tuesday that the Chinese authorities had informed her of the fact that they had found no “illegal gain” in another investigation into an attack on personal information.
(Written by Pushkala Aripaka in Bangalore and Maggie Fick in London, Pauline Foret, edited by Kate Entringer)
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