Bristol Myers Squibb is working on contingency plans to “protect the continuity of supply” of medicine in preparation for draft US legislation seeking to restrict Chinese pharmaceutical companies over national security concerns, according to its finance chief.The Biosecure Act, introduced in the US Congress in January, would prohibit US companies receiving federal grant money from working with WuXi AppTec and any related entities. Three other Chinese companies are named in the draft legislation, including gene sequencing group BGI Genomics.
The US drugmaker, a top-10 pharma company by sales, relies on WuXi AppTec sister company WuXi Biologics to manufacture some of the active pharmaceutical ingredients in its blockbuster cancer pill Revlimid, according to industry tracker GlobalData.
“If there are any political changes that occur in Washington as it relates to using manufacturers in China, we’ll be prepared to address those to protect the continuity of supply,” said David Elkins, BMS chief financial officer, ahead of the company’s first-quarter results on Thursday.