TPP Trade Deal Will Be Devastating for Access to Affordable Medicines

[polly7]

By Doctors Without borders
Source: Doctors Without Borders
February 2, 2015

Many countries and treatment providers, including Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), rely on affordable quality generic medicines to treat life-threatening diseases. We need to keep prices low so our patients — and millions of others still waiting for treatment in the developing world — can get the medicines they need.

But right now the U.S. government is advocating for trade terms with eleven other Pacific Rim nations that could restrict access to generic medicines, making life-saving treatments unaffordable to millions.

Damaging intellectual property rules in the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) would give pharmaceutical companies longer monopolies over brand name drugs. Companies would be able to charge high prices for longer periods of time. And it would be much harder for generic companies to produce cheaper drugs that are vital to people’s health.

“The TPP is the most damaging trade agreement we have ever seen in terms of access to medicines for poor people,” said Malpani. “With USTR [Office of the United States Trade Representative] publicly stating that these negotiations are winding down, it is now more urgent than ever that concerns about access to medicines be addressed.”

https://zcomm.org/znetarticle/tpp-trade-deal-will-be-devastating-for-access-to-affordable-medicines/

[Faryn Balyncd]

1. This will add to the already skyrocketing cost of generics caused by market manipulation.

[xocet]

2. Here is the link to that Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) press release.

The TPP apparently (according to the MSF video (at about time index 1:51)) requires that surgical methods be patentable.

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/article/tpp-trade-deal-will-be-devastating-access-affordable-medicines

[Jefferson23]

3. Damn. n/t

[polly7]

4. Thank you for this. nt.