Congressional lawmakers introduced legislation last week that would restrict medical providers that are federally funded from engaging with foreign biotech companies that pose “a national security threat” to the U.S.
The bill, the BIOSECURE Act, is aimed at preventing foreign companies of concern, including China-based WuXi Apptec, BGI Group, and their subsidiaries, from gathering genetic information about Americans.
“Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) collects genetic data of Americans and uses it for research with the Chinese military,” said Rep. Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, in a statement.
The committee’s ranking member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi added that “by allowing these companies to amass and analyze large amounts of foreign genomic data, we risk our most sensitive information being used by our foreign adversaries against us.”
The Senate also introduced a corresponding bill that would ban biotechnology firms with ties to the Chinese government or military.
BGI Group’s subsidiary, BGI Genomics, was added to the Department of Defense’s list of Chinese military companies in 2022 while another subsidiary based in Hong Kong, BGI Tech Solutions, was added to the Department of Commerce’s Entity List in 2023 for posing a “significant risk to contributing to [China’s] government surveillance.”
The lawmakers also warned that two of BGI’s subsidiaries, MGI Tech and Complete Genomics, “have access to the United States market and population.”
MGI Tech responded this week denying the allegations mentioned in the bill. The company stated it does not collect data from its customers.
"The data generated by customers based on our sequencing platform are collected, stored, processed, and controlled by the customers themselves," the company said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
The legislation also noted that WuXi Apptec, a pharmaceutical and medical device company, has “sponsored military-civil fusion events” in China, which is part of a strategy to develop the PRC into a world-class military nation.
WuXi is a publicly traded pharmaceutical and medical device company that is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. With a market cap of approximately USD $22 billion, public fund data shows that the stock has been held in a variety of emerging market funds offered by U.S. and European asset management firms.
Following the introduction of the bill, shares of Wuxi Apptec, MGI Tech, and BGI, with publicly issued securities held in a variety of global funds, all fell by double-digit percentages. Wuxi Apptec’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell by nearly 32 percent since Friday.
The company said in a statement that what the legislation alleged about its business is “neither appropriate nor accurate,” and that it does not present a security risk to any country. Wuxi Apptec added that it “abides by the laws and regulations of the countries where it operates, including China and the United States.”
The bill, the BIOSECURE Act, is aimed at preventing foreign companies of concern, including China-based WuXi Apptec, BGI Group, and their subsidiaries, from gathering genetic information about Americans.
“Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) collects genetic data of Americans and uses it for research with the Chinese military,” said Rep. Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, in a statement.
The committee’s ranking member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi added that “by allowing these companies to amass and analyze large amounts of foreign genomic data, we risk our most sensitive information being used by our foreign adversaries against us.”
The Senate also introduced a corresponding bill that would ban biotechnology firms with ties to the Chinese government or military.
BGI Group’s subsidiary, BGI Genomics, was added to the Department of Defense’s list of Chinese military companies in 2022 while another subsidiary based in Hong Kong, BGI Tech Solutions, was added to the Department of Commerce’s Entity List in 2023 for posing a “significant risk to contributing to [China’s] government surveillance.”
The lawmakers also warned that two of BGI’s subsidiaries, MGI Tech and Complete Genomics, “have access to the United States market and population.”
MGI Tech responded this week denying the allegations mentioned in the bill. The company stated it does not collect data from its customers.
"The data generated by customers based on our sequencing platform are collected, stored, processed, and controlled by the customers themselves," the company said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
The legislation also noted that WuXi Apptec, a pharmaceutical and medical device company, has “sponsored military-civil fusion events” in China, which is part of a strategy to develop the PRC into a world-class military nation.
WuXi is a publicly traded pharmaceutical and medical device company that is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. With a market cap of approximately USD $22 billion, public fund data shows that the stock has been held in a variety of emerging market funds offered by U.S. and European asset management firms.
Following the introduction of the bill, shares of Wuxi Apptec, MGI Tech, and BGI, with publicly issued securities held in a variety of global funds, all fell by double-digit percentages. Wuxi Apptec’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell by nearly 32 percent since Friday.
The company said in a statement that what the legislation alleged about its business is “neither appropriate nor accurate,” and that it does not present a security risk to any country. Wuxi Apptec added that it “abides by the laws and regulations of the countries where it operates, including China and the United States.”
