New bill forces local biotech firms to cut ties with Chinese companies

Tucked inside a 3,000-page national defense bill signed into law last month is a set of new regulations that could upend the way local biotech companies do business.

The Biosecure Act, as it is known, is focused on what it describes as “biotechnology companies of concern,” or BCCs. The legislation, contained within the National Defense Authorization Act, specifically bars biotech entities that receive federal dollars from working with companies connected to foreign adversaries — namely China, but also Russia, North Korea and Iran.

Locally, the bill will force most local biotech firms to re-evaluate their relationships with foreign companies of concern — or hope for a federal waiver, say lawyers and biotech compliance experts.

“This will impact the entire pipeline,” said Matt McLoughlin, senior vice president of compliance and categories at Scientist.com.

Working from his Solana Beach office, McLoughlin advises more than 140 biopharmaceutical companies, including pharma giants with local offices like Sanofi, Novartis, and Pfizer — all of which could be affected by the legislation.

A number of smaller local companies — like Biopharma, Neurocrine, and Kura Oncology — will also have to review their foreign relationships.

For 25 years, McLoughlin as helped oversee compliance and procurement-related aspects of outsourcing scientific services, helping large biopharma clients manage complex, globally distributed supply chains....