After running up against a roadblock earlier this summer, the controversial BIOSECURE Act could gain new momentum next week.
The U.S. House of Representatives is slated to consider the legislation during the week of Sept. 9, according to a website maintained by the congressional chamber. The bill was introduced in January and seeks to halt federal contracts with certain Chinese biotech equipment and service providers over national security concerns.
In its current form, the bill calls out five Chinese life science companies by name, including R&D powerhouse WuXi AppTec and its manufacturing-focused sibling WuXi Biologics—though more companies could be added to the list in the future.
WuXi AppTec and WuXi Bio have repeatedly rejected the claims laid out in the bill, which accuses them—and the genomics companies BGI Group, MGI and Complete Genomics—of having ties to China’s military, internal security forces or intelligence agencies.
Notably, the bill is set to be considered under the House's "suspension of the rules" procedure. This process is generally used to quickly pass noncontroversial measures, Axios reports.
As for what comes next for BIOSECURE, Axios noted that votes on standalone bills are less common in the Senate. In turn, the most likely path forward for the legislation is for it to be folded into the annual defense policy bill this year.
BIOSECURE has won wide bipartisan support since its introduction by former Republican congressman Mike Gallagher early this year. The bill advanced out of the House Oversight Committee with a 40-1 vote in May.
Still, an attempt for a House floor vote that would have tucked the bill in as an amendment to the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) fell short in June. The NDAA determines the Defense Department’s budget each year and had been expected to include BIOSECURE earlier this summer.
As the bill works its way through the legislative branch, industry watchers have raised concerns about the complicated work that would be required for U.S. drugmakers to untangle themselves from their Chinese contractor partners. The current version of the bill would require drugmakers to sever ties with the named Chinese contractors by 2032 to retain their positions on Medicare and Medicaid.
Still, a certain degree of reputational damage has already been done.
Look no further than the recent survey by L.E.K. Consulting, which found that the bill had already dramatically undermined U.S.-based life science companies’ confidence in working with Chinese firms. U.S. companies were most concerned about working with Chinese CDMOs, followed by contract research organizations and drug development partners, according to L.E.K.’s poll.