At DCAT, firms sought to capitalize on WuXi woes

It was business as usual at the recent Drug, Chemical, and Associated Technologies Association's DCAT Week, an annual affair in New York City at which pharmaceutical services companies meet and strike deals. At the various midtown hotels hosting the conference, companies pitched their services and showcased their latest investments and acquisitions. But the elephant in the room was that US lawmakers' calls for sanctions on the Chinese services firm WuXi AppTec could mean business for North American and European companies. WuXi AppTec, a top drug services provider and one of the world's largest employers of chemists, and WuXi Biologics, a separate company that WuXi AppTec spun off in 2017, have been on the US government's radar because of national security concerns. In January, a House committee introduced a bill seeking to restrict federally funded medical providers from using the services of several Chinese firms, including the two WuXi companies. Similar