The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently released a new policy on biospecimen security (see NOT-OD-25-160) that will take effect on October 24, 2025. This policy establishes new requirements for the handling of human biospecimens collected, stored, used, or distributed with NIH support, in alignment with Executive Order 14117 and 28 CFR Part 202.
The policy is designed to protect sensitive personal health data from misuse by foreign adversaries and applies to all NIH-funded mechanisms, including grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, Other Transactions, and intramural support.
