BINSA Act

This bill amends title VIII of the Defense Production Act of 1950 to alter the definitions of "prohibited technology" and "notifiable technology" . The primary goal is to include biotechnology within these categories, driven by concerns that United States capital and intellectual property are accelerating China's acquisition of pharmaceutical intellectual property and clinical development capabilities, thereby creating strategic dependency risks for the U.S. The legislation broadly defines biotechnology to encompass the research, development, manufacturing, or commercialization of pharmaceutical products, biological products, and therapeutic compounds. This includes specific areas such as drug discovery platforms, clinical research and development capabilities, biologics manufacturing, and related intellectual property and know-how. These additions are intended to prevent the transfer of critical pharmaceutical innovation capacity to entities under the direction or control of the People's Republic of China. The bill mandates the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a rule within one year to further define the parameters of "biotechnology" for these purposes. This rulemaking process requires consultation with the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Defense, and the Director of National Intelligence. It must give particular consideration to transactions involving the licensing of intellectual property, joint ventures, and equity investments in priority areas like drug discovery platforms and biologics manufacturing. Crucially, the rulemaking must explicitly exclude agricultural biotechnology, industrial fermentation unrelated to pharmaceutical or therapeutic production, and basic academic research without direct pharmaceutical or therapeutic application. Additionally, the bill requires the Secretary of Defense to submit a report within 60 days assessing whether U.S. capital flows into China's biotechnology sector negatively affect United States national security and military readiness.