AstraZeneca said on Wednesday its China president Leon Wang had been detained by Chinese authorities and, although it did not know the reason, it did not believe it was linked to a large health insurance fraud case involving the company.

BMO Capital Markets analyst Etzer Darout in a note to investors said the insurance fraud probe represents a “headline risk” to AstraZeneca, but contends that the share selloff is “overdone” and likely a knee-jerk reaction by investors.

The pharmaceutical giant, whose China chief is now under investigation, was previously at the centre of insurance scam cases, report says.

AstraZeneca shares recorded their biggest one-day drop since March 2020 on Tuesday following a report that dozens of senior executives at its China unit could be implicated in the largest insurance fraud case in the country's pharma sector in years.