Biotech Investment National Security Act of 2026 proposed

The bipartisan Biotech Investment National Security Act of 2026 (BINSA) proposes significant changes to how biotechnology transactions are regulated in the United States. The act aims to amend the COINS Act by designating biotechnology as a covered sector and expanding the scope of reviewable transactions to include licensing deals.

This legislative shift follows recent multi-billion-dollar licensing agreements between the U.S. and China. Currently, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) focuses on capital inflows to U.S. companies. However, regulators are increasingly concerned with the outflow of funds, identifying it as a regulatory gap.

Under BINSA, the U.S. Treasury would be granted one year to establish implementation rules. This builds upon existing frameworks like the Outbound Investment Security Program (OISP), which currently restricts transactions involving China, Hong Kong, or Macau in the semiconductor, quantum information technology, and artificial intelligence sectors.