Recently, AstraZeneca announced an important personnel change on its official website, appointing Bob Li, an Asian scientist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in the United States, as the new head of global medical affairs for oncology. He will report directly to David Fredrickson, head of AstraZeneca's oncology business unit.

Although Mr. Li is 42 years old and his position has not yet reached the company's senior management, his Chinese identity and background have attracted widespread public attention. Mr. Li, an Australian-Chinese born in Shanghai, has served as a physician ambassador for China and the Asia-Pacific region at MSK, and is also a senior fellow in global public health at the China Analysis Center of the Asia Society Policy Institute.

Mr. Li's career shows that he has established cooperative relationships with many medical organizations in China, including a cooperative project between MSK and the China Thoracic Tumor Research Collaborative Group. Thoracic tumor treatment is a key area of AstraZeneca's oncology drug research and development. Since Pascal Soriot became AstraZeneca's global CEO in 2012, the company's strategic focus has clearly shifted to the oncology business, and AstraZeneca's performance in recent years has also confirmed the correctness of this strategy.

In the third quarter of this year, AstraZeneca's oncology drug sales increased by 21% to US$5.6 billion, accounting for more than 40% of total revenue. In China, oncology drugs have also brought significant revenue to AstraZeneca, including two important oncology drugs Tagrisso and Enhertu. On November 28, Enhertu was included in China's new version of the National Medical Insurance Catalogue. This is a new type of antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) mainly used for HER-2 positive breast cancer patients.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2022, breast cancer is the second most common cancer in Chinese women, second only to lung cancer. AstraZeneca said that about one in five breast cancer patients are considered HER2 positive. Although AstraZeneca's official website does not detail the specific responsibilities of the "Global Medical Affairs" position, reporters learned that AstraZeneca has a similar position in the United States. Mr. Li Tingkan set the goal of this position as "helping AstraZeneca redefine the future of cancer treatment."

China is AstraZeneca's second largest market in the world after the United States, accounting for about 13% of its total sales. AstraZeneca has invested heavily in China and emphasized cooperation with local Chinese medical institutions and supply chains. However, AstraZeneca's business in China is currently facing severe challenges. The long-term "insurance fraud" investigation has involved hundreds of employees and several current and former AstraZeneca China oncology business executives. The investigation of Wang Lei, the company's president of China, has been going on for nearly a month, but the company has not yet released more information. This has also had an impact on AstraZeneca's stock price, which has fallen by nearly 10% in the past month.

Industry analysts told reporters that Wang Lei was an important "bridge" between AstraZeneca's global senior management and the Chinese market. With Wang Lei's situation unclear, AstraZeneca needs to find strategic talents who can provide insights into the Chinese market, and Mr. Li Tingkan's close ties with China played a role in this appointment. At present, Wang Lei's name still appears on the management list of AstraZeneca's global official website. His profile states: "Wang Lei is responsible for driving sustainable development strategies in international regions, including China. Under his leadership, China has become AstraZeneca's second largest market globally, and AstraZeneca has become China's largest pharmaceutical company."

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