China Clinical Trial Security
US House Opens Bipartisan Probe into Merck, AbbVie China Trials Over Security, Ethics
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Key Points
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Xinjiang is described by lawmakers as the epicenter of Beijing's genocide against Uyghurs and other minorities, with concerns raised about potential forced-labor risks in the region’s clinical-trial ecosystem and the locations of trials at Xinjiang sites and military-affiliated hospitals.
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Letters warn that Chinese national security laws could compel disclosure of proprietary U.S. biopharmaceutical data obtained in Chinese trial sites to state intelligence services, raising data-security and national-security concerns for Merck and AbbVie.
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China’s embassy in the U.S. dismissed the committee’s actions as ‘nothing credible’ and opposed efforts to politicize trade and technology issues surrounding clinical trials in China.
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The probe underscores a broader shift in the global biotech landscape, noting that China has expanded its share of global early-stage drug development and now conducts a large portion of such trials, with 2024 figures indicating the U.S. and China each account for roughly a third of activity and China continuing to gain.</
A bipartisan group of U.S. House lawmakers opened national security investigations into Merck and AbbVie on June 29, 2026, over clinical trials the companies ran in China — including at sites in Xinjiang and hospitals tied to the Chinese military. Reuters reported that letters signed by Committee Chairman John Moolenaar demanded the companies disclose full details of their trial sites, vetting processes, and data protections by July 17.
The numbers are stark. Merck ran 224 clinical studies in China since 2005 — at least 31 in Xinjiang and 40 at military-linked facilities, according to Quartz. AbbVie conducted more than 100 studies since 2007, with at least 17 in Xinjiang and 16 at military-connected centers, Benzinga reported. Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squibb were also named in the probe.
Xinjiang Trials and Military Hospitals Raise Red Flags
Lawmakers called Xinjiang the
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