Representative Kat Cammack (R-FL) is urging Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to take action as a Chinese company seeks to steal the intellectual property of an American medical company.
The company in question is FastWave Medical, which is developing advanced laser-based intravascular lithotripsy (IVL). IVL is a minimally invasive medical procedure in which sonic pressure waves break up calcium that has accumulated in arteries and veins, improving blood flow.
FastWave Medical's tech is considered a critical technology under federal export controls, yet, as described in Rep. Cammack's letter, the Chinese investor Grand Pharmaceutical (GP) has been using its veto power to block American capital investment over the past year, intending to deprive the system of funding so that the IP can be more easily stolen.
"This is exactly how the Chinese Communist Party seeks to gain leverage over American innovation," said Rep. Cammack in her letter, adding, "They buy in, block out U.S. investors, and bleed out the company until they can siphon off our intellectual property and take it back to Beijing. We can't let that happen—not with technologies that save American lives and protect our national security."
Scott Nelson, the co-founder and CEO of FastWave Medical, said, "We have the science, intellectual property, and team to continue building a genuine U.S. medtech success story."
"However, Grand Pharmaceutical's actions, including an undisclosed partnership with a direct Chinese IVL competitor, are standing in the way of our novel IVL systems reaching the physicians and patients who truly need them," Nelson continued. "In addition, because of the dual-use potential for defense and semiconductor manufacturing, it's very concerning that our technology may be extracted for ulterior motives."
In November, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) similarly urged the United States to shift from reliance on China for the manufacture of generic pharmaceuticals, saying, "It is UNACCEPTABLE that the most advanced country in the world can't ensure a steady, safe supply of basic medicines for its own citizens."
