Federal investigators say that a Chinese drug manufacturer, previously on the Food and Drug Administration’s list of preapproved foreign companies allowed to import GLP-1 ingredients, was able to bring in batches of the weight loss drug from an unauthorized supplier and introduce the substance of unknown origin into the U.S. drug supply.
In September 2025, now-ousted FDA Commissioner Marty Makary launched a so-called “green list” of overseas facilities permitted to ship active pharmaceutical ingredients for GLP-1 medication into the United States. The list is meant to prevent “potentially dangerous GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from unverified foreign sources from entering the U.S. market.”
However, one of the greenlisted companies, Harbin Jixianglong Biotech Co., later received an infraction letter from the FDA determining that the Chinese-based drugmaker circumvented the list’s “safeguards” by purchasing semaglutide peptide, the primary ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, from a facility not on the list and relabeling containers of the product as its own brand before shipping off the repackaged batches to U.S. pharmacies.
During an on-site inspection, investigators found that the semaglutide was manufactured in an unnamed lab not registered with the FDA. The infraction letter cited Harbin Jixianglong Biotech’s admission that, due to a high demand for semaglutide in the U.S., the company “occasionally purchased the product externally for resale.”
As a result of the investigation’s findings, semaglutide prescriptions that trace back to Harbin Jixianglong Biotech’s tampered batches were recalled nationwide, but many patients likely had already used them by the February 2026 recall date. Until that point, two batches of the rebranded semaglutide, distributed to the U.S. in August and October 2025, were in commercial circulation within the U.S. With a Class II risk-level designation of “moderate to high risk,” the FDA warns that consumption of such recalled products “may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences.”
Harbin Jixianglong Biotech has reported ties to the Harbin Institute of Technology, which the U.S. Department of Commerce identified as a security risk for attempting to acquire U.S. technology for Chinese missile programs. According to ChemicalBook.com, a Beijing-based directory and reference database of pharmaceutical products, Harbin Jixianglong Biotech has “established long-term university-enterprise cooperation relationships with universities such as Harbin Institute of Technology.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the FDA, asking why Harbin Jixianglong Biotech was included on the green list, despite its alleged affiliation with an entity flagged by federal authorities, and whether the agency was aware at the time of the drug manufacturer’s connection to the Harbin Institute of Technology.
“The FDA’s highest priority is protecting public health,” Health and Human Services press secretary Emily Hilliard told the Washington Examiner. “Following an FDA inspection of the facility last year, the manufacturer was removed from the FDA’s green list. The agency remains committed to helping American patients access safe, effective, high-quality GLP medications.”
Harbin Jixianglong Biotech has also received Hi-Tech Enterprises certification from China’s National Tax Administration of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science. This status reportedly “provides subsidies and tax breaks in exchange for alignment with state goals.” The Hi-Tech Enterprises program is controlled by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology.
In October 2025, Jiuzhitang Co. announced that it agreed to acquire a 35% equity stake in Harbin Jixianglong Biotech. Jiuzhitang Co. holds prestigious certifications as a nationally recognized traditional Chinese medicine enterprise, including “China Time-Honored Brand” and “China Intangible Cultural Heritage” status. On June 5, 2025, Hunan Governor Mao Weiming, a member of the Chinese Communist Party, personally visited Jiuzhitang Co. as part of broader recognition of traditional Chinese medicine development in the province. The high-level visit signaled strong provincial government support and the company’s alignment with the state-led push for traditional Chinese medicine.
Some supply chain hawks have been questioning the purpose of the FDA’s green list, which the agency also refers to as an “import alert.” Import alerts are traditionally issued to protect consumers against products with a documented history of violating FDA regulations. Other industry experts say the green list streamlines the import of seemingly compliant GLP-1 components to accommodate the growing demand for weight loss medication, especially as American consumers turn to versions of GLP-1 not approved by the FDA.
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FDA officials characterized the green list’s rollout as “strengthening oversight” of imported GLP-1 ingredients to “ensure patient safety and a secure drug supply chain.” The green list, consisting of GLP-1 ingredients from facilities that the FDA has inspected or evaluated that “appear to be in compliance with the FDA’s rigorous standards,” is supposed to stop poor-quality weight loss drugs manufactured with foreign-made material from infiltrating the U.S. supply stream.
The initial GLP-1 green list, which redacts the names of the listed vendors, contained 13 Chinese anti-diabetic drug suppliers. According to FDA inspectors, Harbin Jixianglong Biotech was added to the green list based on product-quality information it provided to the government agency.
Foreign manufacturers meeting the green list’s criteria are exempt from having their products automatically detained at a U.S. port of entry without physical examination. Under the “appearance standard,” the FDA has the authority to refuse a shipment that appears to be in violation of U.S. import laws without even testing or otherwise inspecting its contents.
Following the investigation into Harbin Jixianglong Biotech’s repackaging operations, the FDA removed the manufacturer from the GLP-1 green list and added it to a different import alert of “Drugs From Firms Which Have Not Met [Good Manufacturing Practices]” that are subject to automatic detention at the U.S. border.
The Washington Examiner contacted Harbin Jixianglong Biotech for comment on the FDA’s removal and recall decision.