AstraZeneca value falls after China unit 'linked to insurance fraud'

AstraZeneca shares tumbled yesterday, wiping £14bn off the value of Britain's biggest drug maker, after a report that dozens of executives at its China unit could be implicated in an insurance fraud case in the country's pharmaceutical sector.

- Julia Kollewe

Also putting pressure on the share price, early data on AstraZeneca's experimental weight loss pill published on Monday was described as "somewhat underwhelming" by analysts at Deutsche Bank, who reiterated their "sell" rating on the stock.

Shares in the FTSE 100 company fell more than 8%, taking the market value down to about £156bn.