PFCD Urges Careful Consideration of the Impact of National Security Policies on Patient Access to Medical Innovation

October 22, 2026 (WASHINGTON, D.C.) In response to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s proposed regulations implementing the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security (COINS) Act, including new restrictions involving biotechnology, the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) issued the following statement:

“As policymakers consider new restrictions on international investment in biotechnology, they must also recognize what is at stake for millions of Americans living with one or more chronic conditions who depend on continued medical innovation and access to effective treatments.

“Medical innovation is increasingly global. Scientific discovery, clinical research, investment, and drug development often cross national borders, and patients benefit when promising advances can reach them regardless of where those advances originate. Policies that broadly restrict biotechnology investment without adequately distinguishing between transactions that pose genuine national security risks and those that support new treatments risk creating barriers to the development and availability of medicines.

“For the 194 million Americans managing one or more chronic conditions, including those with limited or no treatment options, delays in medical progress have real consequences. Patients living with cancer, autoimmune disorders, rare diseases, and other serious chronic conditions already face significant challenges accessing the care they need. Affordability, insurance coverage restrictions, treatment delays, and limited therapeutic options create enormous burdens for patients and their families. Restrictions on investment that supports the development of promising therapies could ultimately reduce treatment choices, slow innovation, and undermine efforts to improve health outcomes.

“America’s leadership in biomedical innovation is a strategic national asset worth protecting. As Treasury moves forward with implementing the COINS Act, policymakers should carefully consider evidence-based safeguards that address genuine security risks without unnecessarily disrupting the research, investment, and innovation that patients depend on and that have sustained U.S. biomedical leadership for decades.

“National security and patient access should not be competing priorities. We urge Treasury to carefully consider the implications of these proposed restrictions for the millions of Americans living with chronic conditions and to protect American interests while ensuring that patients continue to benefit from the best science and most promising medical discoveries, wherever they originate.”

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