Bipartisan Congressional efforts to curb China’s rising influence in global healthcare innovation could backfire on the US, as many influential healthcare companies are on the brink of exiting the US market due to the threat of new sanctions.
California-based biotech giant Complete Genomics, which plays an important role in cancer research in America, is one of the companies impacted by Congressional sanctions due to its ties with China.
Radoje Drmanac, the CEO of Complete Genomics, noted that blending politics with science creates a sad state of affairs that will stifle research and innovation.
The US House of Representatives passed the BIOSECURE Act by a vote of 306 to 81. This act bars the US federal government from funding Complete Genomics, MGI, WuXi Biologics, WuXi AppTech, and BGI and also prevents these companies from working with any entity entitled to receive federal funding. The bill is now headed to the Senate, where it is expected to pass easily.
Proponents of this bill believe that countering China in the biotech sector is critically important to protecting the US economic and national security interests. According to them, increasing reliance on China in the healthcare sector can allow China to steal the data of US patients and help the country control the US medical supply chain.
However, critics suggest that this move would hinder innovation and cause the US to struggle conducting clinical trials for various medications. The new sanctions on Chinese-related companies are also likely to increase the price of many drugs for the average American.
Republican Congressman Brad Wenstrup, who sponsored the bill, stated that this legislation is an important step to safeguard Americans’ genetic data and prevent China from pursuing its hidden agenda of undermining US national security and economic interests.
GOP Congressman James Comer also stated that now is the right time to stop China before Chinese companies become more integrated into the US economic and social systems.
Meanwhile, Democratic Congressman Jim McGovern, who opposed the bill, stated that the bill should have avoided mentioning specific companies without properly investigating them. He asserted that this approach can be detrimental for companies that are not in the good books of Congress.
Complete Genomics’s Drmanac dismissed Congressional concerns about the data privacy of Americans, stating that his company’s computers are connected only to American servers. The company also urged Congress to bring forward comprehensive data protection laws instead of targeting specific companies.
BGI called congressional efforts a “false flag” operation against a specific set of companies, adding that they do not have access to any personal data of Americans.
Similarly, MGI believes that Congress wants to eliminate competition in the biotech sector to create a monopoly for the companies of their choice.
Even medical firms that are not targeted directly under the legislation have criticized the move, arguing that such a bill would disrupt the supply chain of the US pharmaceutical industry.
