New federal bill would limit certain foreign biotechnology companies from accessing U.S. genetic data

Seeking to keep adversaries’ hands off sensitive American genetic data, a bipartisan and bicameral group of federal lawmakers recently introduced the Prohibiting Foreign Access to American Genetic Information Act of 2024 and took aim at certain biotechnology companies’ practices.

“Every day, Americans get their blood drawn or take other medical tests to protect their health,” U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said. “But, few people know exactly who has access to the DNA information contained in those samples or how they might use it. From DNA test kits to medical diagnostics, as the biotechnology sector becomes more prominent in everyday life, the threats posed by biotech companies controlled by foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party continue to grow. This bill will protect Americans’ personal health and genetic information from foreign adversaries who have the ability and motivation to use it to undermine our national security.”

Peters was joined in the bill’s introduction by fellow U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and U.S. Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL). Their bill would ban any biotechnology companies whose business practices threaten national security and who are owned or controlled by designated foreign adversaries – with special attention paid to China by all involved – from accessing sensitive American genetic data and receiving U.S. taxpayer funding through federal contracts, grants, and loans.

By funding foreign biotech companies like these to access and amass large amounts of U.S. genomic data, the lawmakers feared that people’s most sensitive information could be used against them.

“Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) collects genetic data of Americans uses it for research with the Chinese military,” Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, said. “The CCP will undoubtedly use the genetic data collected by BGI to further its malign aggression, potentially even to develop a bioweapon used to target the American people. The good news is that Congress can do something about it.”

BGI was among a specified group of companies to which a fast-track ban would be applied, if the bill passes. Others included MGI, Complete Genomics, WuXI AppTec and their subsidiaries. In all cases this was due to their affiliation with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). For future companies, the bill would lay out criteria for identifying risks and concerns, and set up an annual review process to cut down on companies trying to evade such bans through efforts like corporate restructuring.

In the Senate, the bill was cosponsored by U.S. Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Roger Marshall (R-KS). In the House, it was cosponsored by U.S. Reps. Neal Dunn (R-FL), Seth Moulton (D-MA), and Jake Auchincloss (D-MA).