China Is Making Cheaper Drugs, and American Companies Are Worried

American drug companies are facing a tough choice about working with China. Chinese companies are making new medicines very quickly and selling them for less money. American companies have spent $60 billion buying Chinese drugs in just three months this year. But some people worry this could hurt American medicine companies in the long run.

The problem is that China has become really good at making drugs. Ten years ago, only 8% of new drugs around the world came from China. Today, more than 40% of new drugs come from Chinese companies. At the same time, America's share of new drugs dropped from almost half to less than 35%.

This has split American drug companies into three groups. The first group thinks working with China is dangerous. They believe China will become too powerful and might stop selling drugs to America if the countries disagree about something. These people compare it to other industries where China started by helping, then took over completely.

The second group thinks China's success is normal business competition. They say American companies should learn to compete better instead of complaining. These companies believe they can get better drugs for patients by working with Chinese companies. They think the first group sounds like they're afraid of change.

One person who is speaking out is Jason Kelly. He runs a company called Ginkgo Bioworks in Boston. Kelly thinks America needs to stop buying drugs from China right away. He wants the government to speed up drug testing in America and invest in better technology to compete with China.