House Committee Requests DOJ Review of Group Lobbying Against Chinese Biotech Ban Act

Chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), speaks during a press conference unveiling the results of the Committee’s investigation into the biolab discovered in Reedley, Calif., in Washington on Nov. 15, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has asked the Department of Justice to review a D.C.-based trade group that allegedly lobbies on behalf of a CCP-linked biotech company.

In a letter dated March 5 to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), the committee’s Chairman, raised concerns regarding the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), a trade association representing the biotechnology industry, and its lobbying effort against the BIOSECURE Act. This legislation aims to prevent federally funded providers from benefiting Chinese biotech firms, including WuXi AppTec.

“BIO’s advocacy on behalf of WuXi AppTec raises concerns that it is operating as an unregistered agent of a foreign principal while advancing the interests of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” Mr. Gallagher wrote.

Mr. Gallagher said BIO Chief Executive Officer Rachel King sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in January to advocate against the bill.

In January, Mr. Gallagher introduced the BIOSECURE Act in the House, prohibiting federally funded medical providers from financing Chinese biotechnology companies that could pose a risk to national security. The law lists four Chinese firms as “biotechnology companies of concern,” including WuXi Apptec, for their close ties to the CCP and its military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

“BIO has undertaken a recent advocacy campaign against the BIOSECURE Act (H.R.7805), which I introduced in January 2024,” Mr. Gallagher wrote. “The BIOSECURE Act is intended to block foreign adversary biotechnology companies from accessing federal funds and exploiting the American bioeconomy.”

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In January, in her letter to senators sponsoring the bill, Ms. King said the legislation would “do untold damage to the drug development supply chain both for treatments currently approved and on [the] market as well as for development pipelines decades in the making.”

Last month, the committee called on the Biden administration to investigate WuXi AppTec and its subsidiary, WuXi Biologics, due to their alleged ties to the Chinese military. The committee cited numerous examples of WuXi AppTec and its leadership’s connection to the CCP and the Chinese military and urged the Biden administration to blacklist the company.

“In sidestepping the substantive concerns raised by a group of bipartisan, bicameral lawmakers regarding WuXi Apptec and its extensive foreign adversary government and military ties, Ms. King is attempting to misrepresent WuXi Apptec as a benign entity,” Mr. Gallagher continued.

According to a report by a conservative think tank, the Jamestown Foundation, WuXi AppTec “has deep connections with the CCP.” The company “established a CCP organization within its structure in China, boasting 20 Party branches and embedding the Party’s presence within its corporate culture.”

The report also reveals that WuXi AppTec had received investment from numerous PLA funds, including the AVIC Military-Civil Integration Selected Hybrid Securities Investment Fund.

“BIO’s advocacy on behalf of WuXi Apptec—intended to protect the company’s access and commercial ties in the United States despite the risk to U.S. national security—is aligned with the interests of the CCP and the People’s Republic of China government,” Mr. Gallagher said.

Mr. Gallagher then requested the Department of Justice to brief his committee within 30 days on how the Foreign Agents Registration Act applies to WuXi AppTec’s lobbying activities. Additionally, he is seeking information on potential legislative solutions that would compel companies advocating for Chinese military-linked entities to register as foreign agents.

WuXi AppTec has multiple offices, manufacturing facilities, and labs in the United States, including Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Austin, San Francisco, and New Jersey.

In early 2022, the Department of Commerce added its subsidiary Wuxi Biologics to its unverified list, which requires U.S. suppliers to do extensive due diligence. However, Commerce removed the company from the list in late 2022.

The Epoch Times has reached out to BIO for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.