Oklahoma – Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is warning Secretary of State Marco Rubio about what he describes as a national security risk involving Chinese businesses and the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain.
Drummond joined attorneys general from 19 other states in a letter to Rubio raising concerns about pharmaceutical ingredients used in compounded GLP-1 drugs, including semaglutide, tirzepatide and retatrutide. The coalition says gaps in federal oversight are allowing potentially dangerous ingredients from Chinese suppliers to enter the U.S. market.
The attorneys general are calling for greater oversight of the FDA’s Green List program or for potentially dangerous ingredients to be prevented from entering the country.
The coalition cited a Chinese company, Harbin Jixianglong Biotech Co., as an example. According to the attorneys general, the company purchased semaglutide from a facility that was not registered with the FDA, then repackaged and relabeled the product before distributing it to the United States. The issue was discovered during an on-site inspection.
“Chinese businesses have found and exploited a gap in the system that gives them a direct line to patients in the U.S. who use popular injectable prescription drugs,” Drummond said. “This exploitation not only poses risks to the health and safety of consumers, but it constitutes a national security risk.”
The coalition also pointed to a Chinese business with ties to entities that manufacture fentanyl and urged the National Security Council to address the concerns surrounding the pharmaceutical supply chain.
Oklahoma AG Drummond warns Sec. Rubio of pharmaceutical supply chain threat after Chinese business with ties to fentanyl manufacturers exploited federal oversight gaps, calls it a “national security risk”
