Treasury’s China biotech rule exempts licensing deals — SkimNews
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- Treasury Department proposed last week to limit U.S. investment in Chinese biotech, prompting debate among players across the U.S. biopharma industry.
- Proposed rule is more aggressive than some anticipated, moving the main argument from whether restrictions are needed toward what their impact will be.
- Licensing deals are exempt under the proposal, according to a Treasury official, and that carve-out is at the heart of disagreements over its effects.
- Offensive strategy would boost domestic research and development, while a defensive strategy would try to prevent Chinese biotechs from catching up.
- China’s biotech advance remains an open question in the debate, with players asking whether the restrictions can slow it at all.
Why it matters: For U.S. licensees, the licensing carve-out leaves a protected route for deals even as the broader China investment limit is more aggressive than some anticipated. That makes the scope of the exemption the material dividing line: the debate is no longer simply whether to restrict investment, but which transactions fall outside the rule.
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