Amid BIOSECURE Act, WuXi Apptec and WuXi Biologics explore selling assets

Financial Times (FT) reports that WuXi Apptec and WuXi Biologics are putting some of their operations up for sale in the wake of last month’s passage of the BIOSECURE Act through the US House of Representatives.

The report cited anonymous sources that said WuXi Apptec has put its Philadelphia, Pennsylvania contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) WuXi Advanced Therapies for sale, and it has been discussing the matter for months with outside organizations.

Additionally, FT said WuXi Biologics is exploring interest in some of its European facilities based on declining demand from clients due to the predicted impact of BIOSECURE.

If it passes through the senate and is signed into law by President Joe Biden, BIOSECURE will prevent certain Chinese companies – including WuXi Apptec and WuXi Biologics – from receiving funds from the US government.

The two companies were among five Chinese organizations that were targeted because of national security concerns linking them to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Minutes before the deciding vote in September, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois said, “US Intel has shown that WuXi AppTec has secretly transferred US intellectual property (IP) to Chinese authorities in Beijing.”

WuXi Apptec has remained measured in its public responses to the BIOSECURE Act, simply hosting links to various letters that criticize the Act for its pending impact on the biopharmaceutical supply chain along with a brief statement from Richard Connell, the US/EU president of WuXi AppTec.

The statement reads, “WuXi AppTec will continue to rely on facts, correct the record, and inform legislators that pending legislation in Congress has the potential to upend access to life-saving treatments for patients in need.”