White House Beat Treasury, HHS in Battle Over COINS Rule, BioCentury

BioCentury cited a Morgan Lewis LawFlash authored by partners David Plotinsky, Jiazhen Guo, and Todd Liao, registered foreign lawyer Ning Zhang, and associate Christian Kozlowski about proposed US Treasury Department regulations that would significantly expand outbound investment restrictions under the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security Act. Todd also spoke with the publication about the implications for biotechnology transactions involving Chinese companies.

The article draws on the Morgan Lewis analysis of the proposed restrictions on biotechnology investments and the opportunity for industry stakeholders to seek targeted changes through the public comment process. The authors note that Treasury may be receptive to proposals that improve technical precision or avoid unintended commercial consequences while balancing national security considerations with market needs.

Todd also explained that standalone licensing arrangements would generally remain outside the proposed restrictions, but adding an equity investment or joint venture component could turn an otherwise permissible licensing transaction into a prohibited investment.

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