U.S. restricts China’s chip access

The U.S. plans to tighten sweeping measures to restrict China’s access to advanced semiconductors and chipmaking gear, seeking to prevent its geopolitical rival from obtaining cutting-edge technologies that could give it a military edge.

The latest rules aim to refine and close loopholes from curbs announced last October, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Biden administration is seeking to strengthen controls on selling graphics chips for artificial intelligence applications and advanced chipmaking equipment to Chinese firms, the people said, asking not to be named because the rules aren’t yet public.

The U.S. will also impose additional checks on Chinese firms attempting to evade export restrictions by routing shipments through other nations, and add Chinese chip design firms to a trade restriction list, requiring overseas manufacturers to gain a US license to fill orders from those companies.

Novo buys blood pressure medicineNovo Nordisk A/S agreed to buy an experimental blood-pressure medicine from KBP Biosciences for as much as $1.3 billion, extending a string of recent deals to bolster its drug pipeline.

The treatment, called ocedurenone, is in late-stage testing for people with uncontrolled hypertension and advanced, chronic kidney disease, the Danish drugmaker said Monday.

If successful, it could help address a major need for people with both heart disease and chronic kidney disease, according Martin Holst Lange, executive vice president of development at Novo.

The deal is the latest in a series of bolt-on acquisitions for the Danish maker of blockbuster obesity treatment Wegovy.

From wire reports