By Rob Copeland and Rebecca Robbins
Rob Copeland covers Wall Street. Rebecca Robbins covers pharmaceuticals.
Sept. 10, 2025, 5:00 a.m. ET
The Trump administration has been discussing severe restrictions on medicines from China that, if enacted, could upend the American pharmaceutical industry and availability of everything from generic drugs to cutting-edge treatments.
At the heart of the possible clampdown is a drafted executive order that threatens to cut off the pipeline of Chinese-invented experimental treatments. Major pharmaceutical companies have been buying the rights to drugs created in China for cancer, obesity, heart disease and Crohn’s disease.
The prospect of the order, a draft of which was obtained by The New York Times, has set off furious behind-the-scenes lobbying efforts by two diametrically opposed groups — each with billions of dollars at stake.
Prominent investors and corporate executives with close ties to the White House, including the tech billionaire Peter Thiel, the Google co-founder Sergey Brin, the Koch family and staff at the investment firm run by President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, have argued for a decisive crackdown against what they view as an existential threat by China to U.S. biotechnology, according to four people briefed on their lobbying who asked for anonymity to discuss private conversations.
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