US Treasury considers investment controls on Chinese biotech

The US Treasury Department has proposed expanding US controls on outbound investment in China to biotechnology, reports Caixin. The move would potentially subject some joint drug-development ventures, offshore spinoffs and equity investments to national-security review.

The proposed rule, issued October 22 under the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security Act, or COINS Act, would add biotechnology to an outbound-investment screening program established for sensitive Chinese sectors. The move could reshape deal structures used by Chinese drugmakers to commercialize experimental medicines abroad.

The measure would cover a broad range of drugs and therapies, including small-molecule medicines, polymers, vaccines, blood products, allergenics, cell and gene therapies, monoclonal antibodies, other recombinant therapeutic proteins and their delivery systems.