U.S. House committee investigates two drug companies' clinical trials in China

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) John Moolenaar, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives' Select Committee on China, led an investigation team and sent letters to two pharmaceutical companies, requiring them to provide detailed information on due diligence, data protection procedures and other relevant standards at their test sites in China before July 17, especially in Xinjiang and military hospitals.

Merck and AbbVie are both innovative biopharmaceutical companies with many years of mature cooperation experience in China. According to Reuters, Merck said that patient safety and ethics are its priorities in clinical research and development, and the company follows all global guidelines. AbbVie declined to comment.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the United States said in an email that the committee's actions had "no credibility" and that China opposed politicizing trade and technology issues.

In its letter, the parliamentary investigative team pointed out that Xinjiang is the epicenter of Beijing's "genocide" against the Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious groups, and said that Chinese researchers had documented clinical trials and had failed to obtain informed consent from subjects.

"Through regulatory reforms, state subsidies, and questionable ethical standards, China has transformed itself into the cheapest and fastest place in the world to conduct early-stage human drug trials," the letter reads.

A Reuters report pointed out that in recent years, China has surpassed the United States in the number of clinical trials. According to one study, the U.S.'s share of global early-stage drug development projects has dropped to about 37% by 2024 from 48% in 2015, while China's share has risen from 8% to more than 32%.

The letter also stated that "Although there is no evidence that the two pharmaceutical companies have committed illegal acts or misconduct, conducting clinical trials in China...will expose U.S. companies to ethical and safety risks."

"Conducting this type of research in Chinese military hospitals exposes U.S. companies' cutting-edge biotechnology intellectual property to potential risks of being transferred to the Chinese military," the letter stated.

Mullenar is also pushing for a Biotechnology Investment National Security Act, which would amend last year's Comprehensive Foreign Investment National Security Act to include biotechnology in the list of technologies subject to review. According to this legislation, biotechnology licensing transactions, joint venture establishments and equity investments by U.S. companies in China will be subject to strict national security review.