Biosecure Act may have less impact — positive and negative — than anticipated

The Biosecure Act has streaked through Washington, mutating along the way, leaving clouds of misunderstanding in its wake. The recent pause in its trajectory, the result of parliamentary procedures rather than opposition to the legislation, provides an opportunity to consider what the Biosecure Act would and would not accomplish, how it may be modified prior to enactment, and next steps Congress could take to address challenges facing the U.S. life sciences industry.

The biotech industry started ringing alarms about anti-China biotech bills in late January, when leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party said they were determined to rapidly drive Chinese contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) out of the U.S. In March, more than 90% of biotech executives who responded to a BioCentury survey expressed concern that the legislation would cause pipeline delays. ...