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Written by Karen Freifeld
(Reuters) – The U.S. House Committee on China has asked the FBI and intelligence agencies to provide a briefing on biotech company GenScript and three subsidiaries to determine whether the Chinese Communist Party has influence over their operations.
In a letter dated May 30 to the FBI and the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence, committee Chairman John Moolenaar and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamurthy said GenScript’s work with US companies and the government raises concerns about US companies’ intellectual property and could help. Improving China’s capabilities in biotechnology.
The three companies mentioned in the letter are Bestzyme, Legend Biotech, and ProBio.
Drugmaker Legend partnered with Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:) in 2017 to develop the cancer cell treatment Carvykti. They sold $500 million of the drug last year and expect sales to eventually reach $5 billion annually.
A GenScript spokesperson said they were founded in New Jersey and “do not take direction from any government.” They added that they look forward to speaking with the House committee.
Legend and J&J did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Other subsidiaries did not. GenScript is a pharmaceutical research and manufacturing services company with more than 200,000 customers in more than 100 countries and a sales, manufacturing and R&D presence in China, the US, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, according to its website.
Lawmakers’ interest in GenScript comes two weeks after another House committee approved a bill that would restrict work with Chinese company WuXi AppTec. Wuxi Biologicals (HK:) BGI, MGI, Complete Genomics, and other potential biotech companies of concern.
The bill still must pass through the full House and Senate before President Joe Biden can sign it into law. But if passed, it would push American pharmaceutical and healthcare companies to reduce their reliance on Chinese research and manufacturing.
“GenScript’s role as a contract development and manufacturing organization, including services such as custom gene synthesis production for U.S. companies and government agencies, raises concerns about potential risks to U.S. companies’ intellectual property and GenScript’s broader role in developing the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) biotechnology capabilities.” , stated in the message.
