The BIOSECURE Act’s Impact May Outlive the Bill Itself

For this past year, the BIOSECURE Act has been a key focus for the pharmaceutical industry, given its potential to significantly reduce U.S. reliance on Chinese supply chains by requiring a transition away from Chinese manufacturers by 2032. The legislation was seen as a pivotal step in bolstering national security and supply chain resilience.  However, with its exclusion from the National Defense Authorization Act and dim prospects for passage in 2024, its legislative future is now highly uncertain. 

Despite this, the act’s influence on industry strategies may persist. As Sarah Karlin-Smith describes in “Inertia for Supply Chain May Stick Even If BIOSECURE Fails” for Citeline’s Pink Sheet, companies are already reevaluating their supply chains, exploring diversification to reduce risks, even as logistical and financial challenges complicate these efforts.  

Anshul Mangal, President, Project Farma – A Precision for Medicine company, sat down with Pink Sheet to share his expert insights on how the BIOSECURE Act has already shaped industry decisions including: 

• Many companies are unlikely to abandon their efforts to transition to non-Chinese suppliers noting, “Sunk costs in transitioning to new suppliers and the strategic need to diversify supply chains may prevent companies, who already started to unwind, from entirely reversing course.” 

• Uncertainty surrounding the BIOSECURE Act has led major Chinese companies, such as WuXi Apptec, to delay their U.S. expansion plans – underscoring the ripple effects of the legislation on global manufacturing strategies.  

• U.S. – China relations will remain a dominant factor shaping biopharma supply chain strategies, regardless of the act’s fate, signaling that geopolitical risks are here to stay. 

Read more about the implications for the pharmaceutical industry in, “Inertia for Supply Chain May Stick Even If BIOSECURE Fails“, published in the Pink Sheet. Subscription required.