STAT+: BIOSECURE Act, aimed at Chinese drug manufacturers, is dealt a major blow

WASHINGTON — Legislation to restrict U.S. drugmakers from using key Chinese contract manufacturers was dealt a major blow when senators left it out of a must-pass defense budget bill this weekend.

The BIOSECURE Act would prohibit pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies from using services or equipment from Chinese “companies of concern,” including WuXi AppTec and WuXi Biologics, in work that is contracted or funded by the U.S. federal government. Industry has come to rely heavily on those companies for contract manufacturing and other important services. Without the WuXi companies, costs for those services would go up.  

BIOSECURE has unusually strong bipartisan support as lawmakers in both parties want to maintain America’s dominance in biotechnology and reduce China’s importance to the drug supply chain.

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