Roche confirms visit to office by investigators

Foreign drugmakers may face more scrutiny of their operations in the Chinese market after Switzerland-based pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG said local authorities called on its offices in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Wednesday.

"We are aware that local government authorities visited Roche's office in Hangzhou on May 21, and the details of the visit are not clear," Roche's communications department in Shanghai said in an e-mail statement on Thursday.

"We will fully cooperate with the authorities involving any inquiries," the statement said.