US bill to restrict WuXi AppTec, Chinese biotechs revised to give more time to cut ties (updated)

WuXi Biologics (Cayman)

10/05/2024 16:39

(Adds background and comments in paragraphs 2-7)
    By Karen Freifeld
       May 10 (Reuters) - A new version of a bill that would
restrict U.S. business with certain Chinese biotechnology
companies including WuXi AppTec and BGI would give U.S.
companies until 2032 to end work with the firms, extending the
amount of time to find new partners.
    The latest Biosecure Act also adds WuXi Biologics to a list
of biotech companies of concern, according to a copy seen by
Reuters. The other companies on the list are BGI, MGI, Complete
Genomics and WuXi AppTec. 
    The revised bill will be introduced on Friday and a U.S.
House of Representatives committee is expected to decide next
week whether to move the bill forward, according to a House
Committee on Oversight and Accountability spokesperson. 
    The committee markup, expected Wednesday, is a procedural
step in the process to the bill's possibly becoming law. A
similar Senate bill was approved by a committee there in March.
    The bills are designed to keep Americans' personal health
and genetic information from foreign adversaries.     
    A spokesperson for WuXi Biologics said they had not yet seen
the revised bill and could not comment. The other companies
listed did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
    The latest bill "highlights a key vulnerability in our
global supply chain and importantly provides a reasonable
timeframe for companies to decouple their reliance on
China-based biomanufacturing," John Crowley, president of BIO,
an industry association, said in a statement.

 (Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and
Michael Erman)
 ((karen.freifeld@thomsonreuters.com; +1(646) 223-6921;))