RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:USA Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) 2022 Re: Biotech and Chinahttps://foleyhoag.com/news-and-insights/publications/alerts-and-updates/2024/march/planning-for-the-biosecure-act/
Key Takeaways:
Bipartisan legislation moving through the U.S. House and Senate, known as the BIOSECURE Act, could limit the ability of U.S. life sciences companies to contract with biotechnology companies with ties to the Chinese government or another “foreign adversary.”
The potentially broad scope of the legislation would both prohibit the U.S. government from contracting with a “biotechnology company of concern,” as well as prevent companies that contract with or receive funding from the federal government from having contracts with these biotechnology companies of concern.
Depending on the legislation’s final form and implementation, a range of companies could be forced to choose between forgoing relationships with biotechnology companies of concern or forgoing relationships with the federal government.
Life sciences companies doing business with WuXi AppTec, BGI Group, MGI, or Complete Genomics (entities specifically named in the legislation) as well as other potential biotechnology companies of concern (e.g., companies with ties to the governments of China, Russia, North Korea, or Iran), will want to monitor the developments of this legislation and assess in advance how to mitigate its potential effects. The long lead times often associated with certain biotechnology services and equipment supply make this advance planning more urgent.