A bipartisan group of lawmakers has urged the Biden administration to increase scrutiny of U.S. clinical trials taking place in China, citing concerns over potential intellectual property theft and allegations of forced participation of Uyghurs.
Republican John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on China, and ranking Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi noted that U.S. pharmaceutical companies have partnered with hospitals operated by the Chinese military to conduct hundreds of clinical trials over the past decade, including in Xinjiang, the region home to China’s Uyghur minority.
In a letter dated August 19 and addressed to Robert Califf, head of the FDA, Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi expressed significant ethical concerns regarding the conduct of clinical trials in Xinjiang, given the region’s history of medical discrimination and suppression of ethnic minorities.
The letter, co-signed by Democrat Anna Eshoo and Republican Neal Dunn, highlighted the risk that vital intellectual property could be transferred to the People’s Liberation Army or exploited under China’s National Security Law.
The FDA did not provide a comment in response to requests regarding the matter.
In response, the Chinese embassy in Washington dismissed the allegations of intellectual property theft as “groundless” and labeled claims of genocide in Xinjiang as a “sheer falsehood.” The embassy stated that “China-U.S. cooperation in health care…is mutually beneficial in essence,” urging against the politicization of normal cooperative efforts.
This letter reflects increasing apprehension about China’s influence in the biotechnology sector. In April, Krishnamoorthi and Moolenaar’s predecessor, Republican Rep. Michael Gallagher, called on the Biden administration to add seven Chinese biotech firms to a list maintained by the Defense Department, identifying them as allegedly working with China’s military.
Lawmakers are also considering legislation to limit U.S. business engagements with certain Chinese biotech companies, including WuXi AppTec and BGI. The recent letter requests the FDA to provide answers regarding the clinical trials by October 1.
