On March 7, 2024, the US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee made significant strides by advancing a bill to the full Senate floor.
The bill, known as the BIOSECURE Act, aims to safeguard US national security interests by restricting certain foreign entities from accessing federal funding.
Specifically, the legislation targets Chinese biotech firms, including WuXi AppTec, WuXi Bio, BGI Genomics, MGI, and its subsidiary Complete Genomics, alleging their affiliations with foreign adversary military and intelligence agencies pose risks.
This bill gained traction as concerns over security vulnerabilities associated with foreign partnerships in biotechnology escalated. The proposed legislation received significant support, despite initial reservations from the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO).
In a notable shift, BIO publicly endorsed the BIOSECURE Act after WuXi AppTec voluntarily terminated its membership. Previously, BIO had expressed concerns about the potential adverse effects of the bill on the US biotechnology sector.
The change in stance by BIO underscores the growing consensus among industry stakeholders regarding the importance of prioritizing national security interests.
Earlier, concerns about potential CCP influence prompted US Representative Mike Gallagher to request an investigation into BIO’s lobbying efforts on behalf of WuXi AppTec.
