WASHINGTON — WuXi AppTec, the Chinese drug-development contractor at the center of the fight over last year’s biotechnology security law, has rebuilt its outside lobbying team in the months before the federal government must publish its first list of “biotechnology companies of concern,” federal disclosure records show.
The company’s longtime outside firm, DGA Group Government Relations, filed a termination report on July 1. Since then, two new firms and a subcontractor have registered to lobby for WuXi AppTec Sales LLC, the company’s U.S. sales arm, on “federal matters regarding biotechnology writ large.” The company’s own third-quarter report, posted Oct. 20, describes its lobbying as “issues related to biotechnology and inclusion in the BIOSECURE Act.”
The new lineup
The first new registrant is a one-person firm. Sander Lurie Consulting LLC, run by Alexander Lurie from a Northwest Washington address, filed its registration on Sept. 3 with an effective date of Aug. 8. The filing lists Lurie’s past covered positions as chief of staff to two former senators, Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.). Lurie was one of the two lobbyists named on DGA’s WuXi account in its final report. His new firm’s third-quarter report, posted Thursday, Oct. 22, shows $70,000 in income and contacts with the House and Senate on “biotechnology issues.”
The second is Liberty Government Affairs, whose principal, Brian Darling, lists his past position as former counsel and senior communications director for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). Liberty registered for WuXi on Oct. 1, effective Sept. 1. Liberty in turn brought in TSG Advocates DC as a subcontractor. TSG’s registration names “Liberty Government Affairs on behalf of WuXi AppTec Sales LLC” as its client, and its third-quarter report lists $20,000 in income. That report names lobbyists Chase Kroll, a former legislative assistant to then-Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), and Bernard Rothschild, who worked for the House until 2015. It also lists contacts with the House, the Senate and the White House Office.
A search of the federal lobbying disclosure database early Friday did not turn up a third-quarter report from Liberty itself for WuXi. Other Liberty filings this year list DJI Technology, the Chinese drone maker, as a client. The Inquisitor is asking Liberty whether a report has been filed or is pending.
What the filings show
| Filer (for WuXi AppTec Sales) | Q3 2025 | Q2 2026 | Q3 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| WuXi AppTec Sales (in-house, total expenses) | $220,000 | $200,000 | $120,000 |
| DGA Group Government Relations | $150,000 | $150,000 (terminated) | — |
| Sander Lurie Consulting | — | — | $70,000 |
| TSG Advocates DC (subcontractor to Liberty) | — | — | $20,000 |
| Liberty Government Affairs | — | — | No report found as of Friday morning |
A separate company, WuXi Biologics USA, reported $100,000 in in-house lobbying expenses for the third quarter. Its outside firm, FGS Global, reported $70,000.
The December deadline
The BIOSECURE Act became law on Dec. 18, 2025, as Section 851 of the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 119-60). Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) promoted the provision. The law bars federal agencies from buying biotechnology equipment or services from designated companies of concern, and from contracting with companies that use them on federally funded work. It gives the Office of Management and Budget one year from enactment, until Dec. 18, 2026, to publish the first list, according to a Sept. 3 analysis by Greenberg Traurig.
The law offers two routes onto that list. One requires that a company appear on the Pentagon’s Section 1260H list of Chinese military companies. The other lets OMB designate a company on its own findings. The Defense Department added WuXi AppTec to the 1260H list on June 8. On Aug. 7, a federal judge in Washington blocked the government from giving effect to that designation, Reuters reported. Greenberg Traurig’s analysis notes that the order binds the Pentagon, not OMB, so the second route remains open.
Sander Lurie Consulting’s effective date of Aug. 8 is the day after that ruling. The filings do not say why the company changed firms or what outcome its lobbyists are seeking, and nothing in the records suggests any improper conduct. Hiring and replacing outside lobbyists is routine, and registrants have 45 days from the start of an engagement to file under congressional guidance.
Who was asked
The Washington Inquisitor is seeking comment from WuXi AppTec, Sander Lurie Consulting, Liberty Government Affairs, TSG Advocates, the Office of Management and Budget, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and the offices of Sens. Hagerty and Peters. This story will be updated with any replies.
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