A House committee voted last week to advance legislation that would ban contracting with five key Chinese biotech firms and set in motion a reordering of how U.S. pharmaceuticals are developed and manufactured.

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability voted overwhelmingly to approve the Biosecure Act. The. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee already approved similar legislation in March. The bipartisan legislation would end U.S. contracting with Chinese firms such as WuXi AppTec and others deemed a threat to national security by 2032.

"This bill is a necessary step toward protecting America's sensitive health-care data from the Chinese Communist Party before these companies become more embedded in the U.S. economy," Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said.