Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios
The House is due to vote next week on legislation that would limit select Chinese biotech companies deemed national security risks from doing business in the U.S.
Why it matters: It's the latest sign of momentum for the bipartisan Biosecure Act, which has elevated biotechnology as a national security concern and scrambled the calculus for drugmakers that rely on offshore contractors for testing and raw materials.
Driving the news: The Biosecure Act is listed among bills slated to be voted on under suspension of the rules, the expedited process typically used for noncontroversial measures that requires the approval of two-thirds of lawmakers present.
- The bill, which cuts off U.S. government funding for five Chinese biotech companies deemed to have ties to Beijing, advanced out of the House Oversight Committee in May on an overwhelming 40–1 vote.
- The targeted companies — BGI Group, MGI, Complete Genomics, WuXi AppTec, and WuXi Biologics — say policymakers misunderstand their work and that the companies do not pose national security risks to the U.S.
- The measure is one of a slew of China-related measures, reflecting one of the few areas with bipartisan cooperation in an election year.
What's next: Votes on stand-alone bills are less common in the Senate, where they eat up more time, so the most likely path for Biosecure is still getting folded into the annual defense policy bill this year.
