House Committee: US pharmaceutical companies conducted drug tests with the Chinese military for over a decade

As a House of Representatives committee shockingly revealed in a letter to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published on Monday, US biopharmaceutical companies have been conducting drug tests with the Chinese military for over a decade.

Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party wrote to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf demanding information about clinical trials for new drugs.

“These joint research activities raise serious concerns that critical intellectual property is at risk of being transferred to the [Chinese military] or co-opted under the National Security Law of the People's Republic of China,” said Chairman John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.).

“Conversely, there are also concerns about the trustworthiness of clinical trial data produced abroad from [People’s Liberation Army] institutions,” the lawmakers added.

Hundreds of clinical trials have taken place in China in medical centers and hospitals run by the Chinese military, the letter says. Among them is an ongoing test for an advanced Alzheimer's drug.

These include the PLA General Hospital and Medical School, the PLA Air Force Medical University, and the PLA Hospital operated by the PLA Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS).

The U.S. Department of Commerce has already banned companies from sharing technology with AMMS over concerns that doing so could endanger national security.

Further trials took place in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where China is committing genocide against the Muslim Uyghur population.

Some of the female victims were raped or sterilized in the horrific “re-education camps,” and others reportedly even had their organs removed.

“As we know, there is simply no way for companies to exercise due diligence to ensure that the clinical trials conducted in XUAR are voluntary,” the members of the House Select Committee emphasize in their letter.

“Against this backdrop, we believe that U.S. biopharmaceutical companies may inadvertently benefit from clinical trial data in which the CCP forced affected patients to participate,” they said.

Lawmakers have asked the FDA commissioner to answer by Oct. 1 whether the agency has formally reviewed any clinical drug trials or uncovered the extent of collaboration with the Chinese military.

FDA representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.