WuXi Biologics inspection raises prospects for getting off US 'unverified list' — report
WuXi Biologics may be inching closer to working its way off the US “unverified list,” an event that wiped out some $10 billion in market value earlier this year.
Reuters is reporting that Chinese officials allowed a US export control officer to conduct an inspection in the city of WuXi, which the wire service identified as WuXi Biologics, citing an unnamed source. And the report also quoted a US export control officer who noted that an inspection in Anhui may follow, unless Covid interferes again.
The lack of inspections — used to verify a company’s “legitimacy and reliability” — triggered tighter export controls on WuXi Biologics, which builds drug manufacturing facilities and provides equipment to companies around the world.
Covid-19 has thrown the inspection process required for certification into turmoil as Chinese authorities have strictly enforced lockdowns throughout the country during the most recent outbreak. That led to the unverified list for WuXi Biologics in Shanghai and WuXi, where it was one of two companies cited.
Recent moves to add companies to the US unverified list came amid a rise in tension between China and the US. Chinese officials have harshly criticized the move, but the Reuters report indicates little flexibility on the US’s part.
“Covid aside, it’s really dependent on them to agree to schedule the pending end-use checks that we have,” the official said, according to Reuters.
At the time, WuXi Biologics discounted the impact of the move.
Social image: WuXi website