S. 5316 — BINSA Act

This section states findings that the People's Republic of China is pursuing dominance in biotechnology through state-directed strategy and that U.S. capital flows to Chinese firms totaled $136 billion in 2025, creating strategic dependency risks comparable to those in semiconductors. It expresses the sense of Congress that outbound investment screening should be applied consistently to biotechnology to prevent acceleration of Chinese control over the pharmaceutical innovation supply chain.

This section expands the categories of notifiable transactions under the Defense Production Act to include licensing of a prohibited technology from a covered foreign person. It also adds biotechnology—defined as the research, development, manufacturing, or commercialization of pharmaceutical products, biological products, and therapeutic compounds—to the lists of sectors subject to both prohibited and notifiable transaction requirements.

This section requires the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a rule within one year of enactment defining the parameters of the biotechnology sector under paragraphs (7)(A) and (10)(A) of section 809 of the Defense Production Act. The rule must be developed in consultation with the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Defense and the Director of National Intelligence; prioritize licensing of intellectual property, drug discovery platforms, clinical development, and biologics manufacturing know-how to covered foreign persons; and exclude agricultural biotechnology, industrial fermentation unrelated to pharmaceuticals, and basic academic research.

This section requires the Secretary of Defense to submit a report within 60 days of enactment to the House and Senate armed services, financial services, intelligence, and select strategic competition committees assessing whether United States capital flows into the biotechnology sector of the People's Republic of China, including licensing transactions, negatively affect United States national security and military readiness. The report must be submitted in unclassified form with a possible classified annex.