A major cog in Philadelphia biotech is in congressional crosshairs for its Chinese ownership

The Sino-American Pharmaceutical Professionals Association — Greater Philadelphia, a nonprofit that supports the region’s biopharma sector, declined to comment on the Biosecure Act. “As a global biopharma service provider, WuXi AppTec has been contributing to the Philadelphia biotech ecosystem,” spokesperson Bill Lu said in an email.

Biotech developments in Philly with WuXi ties

Scientists affiliated with Penn and other area institutions have worked closely with WuXi AppTec. In 2015, Penn and WuXi AppTec announced a partnership for manufacturing gene therapies. Neither Penn nor WuXi AppTec responded when asked if that partnership still exists.

A University of Pennsylvania spinout, Cabaletta Bio, pursuing cell therapy treatments for autoimmune disorders, said last year it would rely on WuXi Advanced Therapies, a subsidiary of WuXi AppTec, to manufacture cell therapies for a clinical trial that is underway now.

Cabaletta Bio cofounder and CEO Steven Nichtberger told investors in January that the company has dedicated resources at WuXi in Philadelphia that it can use to expand.

A newly approved melanoma treatment to be manufactured in Philadelphia also has ties to WuXi AppTec. Iovance Biotherapeutics, a San Diego company with what it describes as one of the world’s largest cell therapy manufacturing facilities in the Navy Yard, last month received FDA approval for an advanced melanoma treatment for patients who tried chemotherapy and other available skin cancer treatments.

WuXi Advanced Therapies manufactured the treatment, called Amtagvi, for nearly a decade during trials and received FDA approval to continue manufacturing it commercially, according to a WuXi news release.

“We do not anticipate any significant impact of the Biosecure Act on our ability to manufacture and meet demand for Amtagvi if it, or an amended version, becomes law,” Iovance spokesperson Jen Saunders said in an email. In a recent SEC filing, Iovance acknowledged the political risk of its reliance on services from WuXi AppTec.