WuXi Apptec and WuXi Biologics shares surge as BIOSECURE stumbles

Passage of the BIOSECURE Act has been delayed after being excluded from the end-of-year defense spending bill that the US government unveiled over the weekend. If passed into law, the BIOSECURE Act would restrict certain named Chinese companies from doing business with and receiving funding from the US government.

Contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) WuXi Biologics and biopharmaceutical and medical device company WuXi Apptec are among those companies named in the Act. As a result of the delay, WuXi Biologics stocks have jumped almost 14%, while WuXi Apptec’s have climbed more than 17% in the past day.

Although the Act passed through the US House of Representatives in September with a vote of 306 to 81, receiving broad bipartisan support, its absence in the defense package will likely delay its path through the senate until at least 2025. The Act’s fate will then fall to the incoming Donald Trump administration, which has not prioritized it as part of its agenda.

Because of the political support it has received, industry stakeholders have expected the Act to pass into law and have taken steps to prepare for that eventuality. In an October conversation with BioProcess Insider, Josh Carpenter, CEO of contract research organization (CRO) Southern Research, urged US companies to seek domestic solutions for impending supply-chain disruptions, while other firms have looked to India to shore up the gap that could be left by China’s exclusion.

But with the sudden uncertainty surrounding BIOSECURE’s eventual passage, Indian companies such as CDMOs Syngene International, Piramal Pharma, and Neuland Labs have seen share prices drop by between 3% and 5%.