LEK Consulting, a UK/US firm, has published the results of a global survey aimed at gauging the impact of the proposed US Biosecure Act on life sciences companies. Conducted in June 2024, the survey included a selection of biopharma firms, investors, and CROs/CDMOs. The survey revealed that 68% of respondents have already initiated some form of corporate action in response to the Act. Notably, US respondents reported a significant decline in confidence when working with Chinese partners, ranging from 30% to 50%, with CDMOs being the most impacted.
The US Biosecure Act, which first emerged in 2023, is under consideration by both houses of Congress and has received bipartisan support. The Act would mandate companies benefiting from US federal funding to cease collaboration with several China-based companies, including BGI, MGI, Complete Genomics, WuXi AppTec, and WuXi Bio. The bill has been amended to provide affected companies with up to eight years to make alternative arrangements, depending on the specifics of their current contracts. In June, a US Congress committee decided against including the Act in the US National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), indicating that the legislation is unlikely to progress further until after the current US election cycle.
LEK’s survey involved 73 respondents, with 52% from US companies, 17% from China-based companies, and 32% from Asia excluding China or other/not specified, with 90% being familiar with the topic.
Key Findings:
The survey aimed to assess changes in confidence levels regarding partnerships with Chinese companies before and after the introduction of the proposed Biosecure Act. Confidence among US companies in working with Chinese CROs has dropped by 32%, with CDMOs at 49%, and biopharma at 36%. Companies outside the US and China have been less affected, with confidence levels dipping to only 19% for biopharma partnerships and 31% for CDMOs.
Overall, across all geographies and company types, only 11% of respondents believe the Act will have no future impact. However, around 50% of companies are currently discussing or waiting to see what counter-measures are adopted by other industry players, while 26% are beginning to evaluate options if required to shift away from Chinese partners, and only 2% have started to unwind partnerships due to the bill.
In total, 32% of respondents have not yet responded to the proposed Act, while 68% have begun some form of strategic adjustment, including increasing legal and compliance requirements for Chinese partners, diversifying partnerships to other countries, or restructuring collaboration agreements.
In terms of willingness to partner with China-based firms, the majority (52%) of biopharma companies remain open to commercialization partnerships, increasing to 75% for companies based in Asia outside China.- Flcube.com
