November 11, 2026 | LL&S in the News
Ron Lanton III, Senior Partner at Lanton, Lanton & Sosa Law, spoke with Angus Liu of Fierce Biotech about the U.S. Treasury Department's proposed regulations implementing the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security (COINS) Act and their potential consequences for biotechnology transactions involving China.
The November 10 article, “‘Flying blind’: Why experts fear Treasury’s China biotech investment crackdown will backfire,” examines concerns among biotechnology investors, pharmaceutical companies, and legal advisers about the scope of the proposed restrictions.
The Treasury proposal would extend outbound investment restrictions to certain pharmaceutical activities involving countries of concern, including China. Traditional pharmaceutical licensing agreements generally remain outside the proposed prohibition, but transactions involving equity investments, joint ventures, and certain collaborative development arrangements require closer examination.
Lanton discussed the difficulty of determining when a conventional licensing arrangement could be treated as a covered joint venture, particularly when parties contribute assets, exchange equity interests, or share financial risks.
He also addressed how the proposed restrictions could affect smaller biotechnology companies and venture capital investors. Companies relying on equity-based transactions may face greater difficulties than large pharmaceutical manufacturers with sufficient capital to pursue conventional cash licensing agreements.
Another concern is the breadth of the proposed definition of pharmaceutical compounds. Lanton questioned whether restrictions intended to address national security risks should extend to ordinary therapeutic products without a clearer distinction between pharmaceutical innovation and technologies presenting specific security concerns.
The Treasury Department is accepting public comments on the proposed regulations through December 7, 2026.
Read the full Fierce Biotech article by Angus Liu:
‘Flying blind’: Why experts fear Treasury’s China biotech investment crackdown will backfire
Lanton, Lanton & Sosa Law advises healthcare, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and technology companies on regulatory policy, commercial agreements, transactions, and government affairs.