Bipartisan Group Led by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi Urges Increased Scrutiny of U.S. Clinical Trials in China

Washington, DC - AUgust 21:
Clinical trials conducted in China should be subject to stricter oversight, according to a bipartisan group of lawmakers headed by Indian American representative Raja Krishnamoorthi. The lawmakers raised concerns about potential intellectual property theft and the forced participation of Uyghurs in their letter to the Biden administration dated August 20.

U.S. pharmaceutical companies have worked with hospitals run by the Chinese military to carry out hundreds of clinical trials in the past decade, according to Republican John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on China, and ranking Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi. This has occurred in Xinjiang, where the Uyghur minority group resides in China.

"There are significant ethical concerns around conducting clinical trials in (Xinjiang) given the historical suppression and medical discrimination against ethnic minorities in this region," Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi wrote in a letter to Robert Califf, who oversees the FDA, on August 19.

The letter continued: "These collaborative research activities raise serious concerns that critical intellectual property is at risk of being transferred to the (People's Liberation Army) or being co-opted under the People's Republic of China's National Security Law." Republicans Neal Dunn and Democrat Anna Eshoo also signed the measure.

A request for comment was not responded to by the FDA. Rejecting "accusations of intellectual theft" as "groundless," the Chinese embassy in Washington characterized the claims of genocide in Xinjiang as "sheer falsehood."

"China-US cooperation in health care...is mutually beneficial in essence," the embassy stated, emphasizing that normal cooperation should not be politicized or instrumentalized because it would harm neither party.

Worries over China's influence in the biotech sector have been on the rise, and this letter reflects that. The Biden administration was urged in April by Krishnamoorthi and Moolenaar's Republican predecessor, Rep. Michael Gallagher, to include seven Chinese biotech companies in a Defense Department list that names companies believed to be collaborating with the Chinese military.

Additional legislation to limit U.S. trade with specific Chinese biotech firms, such as BGI and WuXi AppTec, is being considered by lawmakers. By October 1st, the letter requests that the FDA respond to many inquiries concerning the trials.