Big Pharma would take a hit under USMCA
The compromise deal is a blow to the U.S. pharmaceutical industry after special patent protections for new-age biological drugs were stripped out of the agreement. These drugs, engineered from living organisms, have led to new treatments for everything from arthritis to cancer. The move represents a shift in U.S. trade policy, which had sought to increase protections for the increasingly important and lucrative area of medicine.
The change to the deal scrapped a 10-year period in which drug companies could keep test data and other information confidential from generic drugmakers. Democrats argued that the provisions would tie their hands in an effort to reduce the 12-year protection period enshrined in U.S. law.
The tweak to the deal and lack of Republican outrage is notable. The GOP held up movement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiated by former President Barack Obama because a seven-year biologic protection period secured in that deal didn’t match U.S. law.
"Sen. Grassley is a strong supporter of intellectual property protections to encourage medical innovation, but the reality is that we have a divided government and compromise is necessary," said a spokesperson for Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
Drug companies also saw numerous other patent protections that became regular features in past trade deals jettisoned from the USMCA to ease passage among Democrats. Those rules could have made it harder for cheaper, generic versions of drugs to reach consumers faster.
https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/10/labor-unions-drug-companies-trade-deal-081230
