Pentagon adds WuXi AppTec to list of ‘Chinese military companies’ operating in the US

WuXi AppTec, a contract research, development, and manufacturing organization (CRDMO) headquartered in Shanghai, has been added to a Pentagon list of Chinese companies alleged to be either directly or indirectly owned by, controlled by, or acting on behalf of China’s military, according to a notice scheduled to be published in the Federal Register.

According to the Department of Defense (DoD) notice, WuXi AppTec and other companies on the list satisfy the requirements to be designated as “Chinese military companies” engaged in providing commercial services, manufacturing, producing, or exporting, while operating directly or indirectly in the U.S., in accordance with the statutory requirement of Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.

DoD’s updated 1260H list claims WuXi AppTec is “indirectly owned” by China’s State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), and “indirectly affiliated” with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND).

However, in an emailed statement to Pharma Manufacturing, a WuXi AppTec spokesperson said DoD incorrectly included the CRDMO in the 1260H list, which the Pentagon updates annually.

“We will take immediate actions to correct this erroneous designation,” the spokesperson said. “We do not meet the statutory criteria for designation as a ‘Chinese military company.’ The allegation basis for our 1260H list designation is factually incorrect: we are not owned or controlled by or affiliated with any [People’s Republic of China] military or government entity; we do not provide services to the PRC military; and we are not associated with the PRC’s defense industrial base or military-civil fusion programs.”

WuXi AppTec’s statement reiterated that it is “an independent, publicly traded company serving thousands of partners across 30+ countries to develop life-saving medicines for patients around the world” and has “earned the trust of customers over 25 years through our commitment to excellence, security, and innovation.”

Still, in December 2025, nine Republican congressional leaders wrote a letter to Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth asking him to add Wuxi AppTec — as well as other Chinese companies — to DoD’s 1260H list. In February 2026, the Pentagon briefly added WuXi AppTec to the list but quickly removed it from an online notice.

BIOSECURE Act provisions in play?

With WuXi AppTec now added to the 1260H list, the company potentially falls under the provenance of the BIOSECURE Act — which bans U.S. government agencies from contracting with organizations that use services from companies on the list.

“DoD issued that 1260H list again, about who qualifies as a ‘Chinese Military Company,’ which would trigger parts of BIOSECURE,” Gil Roth, president of the Pharma & Biopharma Outsourcing Association (PBOA), wrote in a LinkedIn post on Monday.

Part of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, President Donald Trump in December 2025 signed into law the BIOSECURE Act barring U.S. government procurement from and grants to biotechnology companies of concern (BCCs).

Under the BIOSECURE Act, a company is considered a BCC if it is included in DoD’s 1260H list and involved in manufacturing, distribution, provision, or procurement of biotechnology equipment or services, as determined by the Office of Management and Budget.

Potentially, it’s a law that could threaten WuXi AppTec’s growing U.S. business which reported record revenue in 2025, with the company’s revenue generated from the American market increasing more than $34% year-over-year.

However, an April 2025 report to Congress from the bipartisan National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) said WuXi AppTec is “so entrenched in American biopharmaceutical supply chains that American firms estimate they would need at least eight years to develop alternative sources for its services.”

Among its infrastructure investments, WuXi AppTec will begin operations later this year at a new 1.74 million-square-foot plant in Middletown, Delaware, which will be the CRDMO’s largest U.S. facility. The drug product site is scheduled to start operations in the fourth quarter of 2026 for oral solid dosage manufacturing — with plans to expand into sterile/injectable production in the fourth quarter of 2027.