news

at around 1:30 p.m. on september 25, the share price of hong kong-listed company wuxi biologics (02269) suddenly rose sharply, with the increase once exceeding 9%.

on the news front, media reported that the official website of the u.s. congress showed that on september 23, local time, there was further progress in the legislation of the u.s. biosafety act. in the latest amendment, wuxi biologics has been removed from the list; at the same time, the plan is to be renamed the "prohibition of foreign access to u.s. genetic information act" and will further focus on human data-related businesses. wuxi biologics has not responded to this yet.

at the beginning of this year, the us congress proposed a draft of the biosafety act, which involves restrictions on cooperation with chinese companies, and companies such as wuxi biologics were mentioned. the core content of the bill is to restrict the us government and its actually controlled companies from signing contracts with specific biotechnology companies, clearly list which companies belong to specific biotechnology companies, and require the establishment of a blacklist. in the bill, any subsidiaries, parent company affiliates or successors of these entities such as wuxi biologics and wuxi apptec are identified as "relevant biotechnology companies." influenced by this news, the stock prices of wuxi-related companies fluctuated sharply.

on march 6, the u.s. senate homeland security committee (hereinafter referred to as the "committee") held a proposal hearing, and the "biosecurity act" was passed at the meeting with a vote of 11:1.

on march 13, the u.s. biotechnology innovation organization (bio) issued a statement announcing that it would support the u.s. biosafety act and work with the u.s. congress as the legislation progresses. the organization terminated its cooperation with wuxi apptec.

on may 10, the united states issued a revised biosecurity act, which intends to give more time to sever the ties between chinese and american biotech companies. the bill will require american companies to end their cooperation with these companies by 2032.

in early september, the u.s. house of representatives passed a draft bill numbered hr8333 on the proposed biosecurity act. the bill restricts the u.s. federal government from doing business with some biotechnology providers on the grounds of "national security."

at that time, wuxi biologics announced on the hong kong stock exchange that the draft bill passed by the u.s. house of representatives was based on the version passed by the house oversight and accountability committee in may 2024, which included defining the company as a biotechnology company of concern; and grandfather clauses applicable before restrictions are implemented in 2032 according to the proposed draft legislation. since the draft bill must be approved by the u.s. senate to become law, its content is still subject to further review and revision during the remaining legislative process. the pending legislative path of the u.s. senate is also unclear at this stage.

the company also stated that as a global biopharmaceutical crdmo platform, it has neither human genomics business nor collects human genomic data in any of its global businesses. the company firmly believes that it has not, is not, and will not pose a national security risk to the united states or any other country in the past, and strongly opposes any unproven pre-emptive designation without due process. the company will continue to pay close attention to the legislative process and continue to communicate with relevant parties. the company is firmly committed to serving global customers and operating in accordance with applicable laws and regulations in all regions where it conducts business.

at the same time, wuxi apptec issued an announcement on the shanghai stock exchange stating that the company has not, is not, and will not pose a national security risk to the united states or any other country in the past, "neither has a human genomics business, nor does the company's existing businesses involve the collection of human genome data in the united states, china, or any other region."

wuxi apptec revealed at the time that the proposed draft biosafety law will continue to go through the legislative process in the coming months. for the proposed draft legislation to become law, it must also be approved by the u.s. senate before the end of the 118th congress and reconcile any differences with the version passed by the u.s. house of representatives. currently, the u.s. senate has not yet scheduled a review of the proposed draft biosafety law, and the direction of its legislative process is still unclear.