Bipartisan bill in US Congress aims at restrictions on Chinese biotech firms

Two leading lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill in the US Congress that would ‘restrict federally funded medical providers from using foreign adversary biotech companies of concern.’

The legislation, introduced 25 January, calls for restrictions to be put on Chinese companies, including BGI Group and its subsidiaries, MGI and Complete Genomics along with WuXi Apptec.

On 2 February, Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party commended the bipartisan National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology ‘for its endorsement of the policy behind the act.’

‘It is unacceptable for U.S. taxpayer dollars to be used to subsidize biotech companies of our foreign adversaries,’ the two lawmakers said in a joint statement. ‘By allowing these companies to amass and analyze large amounts of foreign genomic data, we risk our most sensitive information being used by our foreign adversaries against us.’

In a separate joint statement, 2 February, the two lawmakers also welcomed the Department of Defense’s (‘DOD’s’) recent inclusion of more than a dozen new entities on its ‘Chinese Military Companies List,’ including Hesai Technology, which is involved in light detection and ranging (‘LiDAR’) technology.

That new list came after a bipartisan letter to the DOD called on it ‘to expeditiously update the list to include additional firms that aid the People’s Liberation Army.’