If TPP passes, kiss your generic drugs goodbye

[99th_Monkey]

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, Drug Patents and President Clinton
Monday, 22 June 2015 00:00 * By Dean Baker * Truthout | Op-Ed

There are many serious issues raised by the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), but the one that may have the greatest long-term impact is its provisions on drug patents. The explicit purpose is to make patent protection stronger and longer. While these provisions are likely to lead to higher drug prices in the United States, they will have their greatest impact in the developing world.

In most developing countries drugs are far cheaper than in the United States. This is especially the case in India. The country has a world-class generic industry that produces high quality drugs that typically sell for a small fraction of the price in the United States. For example, the generic version of the Hepatitis C drug Sovaldi can be purchased in India for less than $1,000 a treatment. The patent protected version sells in the United States for $84,000.

The US drug industry desperately wants to eliminate this sort of price gap, which can exceed a ratio of one hundred to one. While India is not in the TPP, the goal of TPP proponents is to expand the pact over time so that India would eventually be included and therefore be subject to its strong patent rules.

This should have everyone very worried. The patent system is a horribly outmoded method of financing research that dates from the 15th century. The idea is that the government provides an incentive for innovation by giving the inventor a patent monopoly over use of the innovation for a period of time. This is problematic for the all the reasons that government enforced monopolies are generally a bad idea, but the problems in the case of prescription drugs are especially serious.

More: http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/31492-the-trans-pacific-partnership-drug-patents-and-president-clinton

[JCMach1]

1. India will never do it... they control a good % the markets in MENA and Africa

[99th_Monkey]

6. I'd rather not take that chance, if India changes its mind

Plus TPP also does this:
"Provisions within the deal would expand patent rights for big pharmaceutical companies, which would keep important medicines overpriced around the world. One of these provisions, “patent term extensions,” would allow companies to extend their patents beyond the original twenty years, preventing other companies from bringing the medicine onto the generic market, which generally lowers costs by 30-80 percent. Other provisions would allow companies to re-patent drugs after twenty years for developing “new uses” or slightly altering the chemical."
https://www.opendemocracy.net/conor-j-lynch/transpacific-partnership’s-big-pharma-giveaway

[JCMach1]

17. No kidding, the TPP is bad in sooooo many ways... Americans are extorted for medications

On the average, even not using insurance, I could walk into a pharmacy in the Emirates and any medication I might need would be 1/2 to 1/10th the cost of what it would be in the USA.

EVEN when it was the American manufacturer!


Notice I said WITHOUT insurance purchase and non-subsidized by the Gov.


How? PRICE CONTROLS... If you were a US company you had to give the cheapest rate, or the simply approved the Indian, or other Generic at a much, much, cheaper price.

Somehow, the companies magically found ways to lower their prices to reasonable levels... go figure.

[pnwmom]

2. I don't understand why that would make a difference within the US

where we are already bound by patent laws; and, of course, do have generics when the patents expire.

[99th_Monkey]

4. It radically extends life of patents, rather than of patients

Even after drug patents last 20 fucking years, on top of that
it creates a loop-hole whereby at end of 20 years the drug company
can minutely tweak ingredients then claim another 20 years.

it's completely insane and will cause many many deaths, both
in 3rd world and in US.

[Ms. Toad]

11. The so-called loop-hole has nothing to do with the TPP

Most new patents are issued for incremental changes over a prior invention. That's just the reality of most inventions these days, and drugs are no different.

If anything, it is the US which is adapting - reluctantly - to a patent system more similar to that used in the rest of the world. That was a lot of the purpose behind the America Invents Act.

I haven't been paying as close attention to the copyright changes, but generally in the realm of intellectual property, the US has been out of step and has been pushed to make changes to bring its system into alignment with the rest of the world.

[99th_Monkey]

15. WikiLeaks exposes "sweet deals for Big Pharma" TPP just makes an already bad situation worse

"a TPP chapter includes expansions and extensions of patent protections and terms as well as a provision proposed by the U.S. and Japan that would require granting of patents for new drugs that are slightly altered from a previous patented one—a technique known as "evergreening" that the pharmaceutical industry uses to prolong market monopoly."
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/10/16/leaked-tpp-chapter-exposes-sweet-deals-big-pharma-and-us-bully-tactics

[blue neen]

12. Drug companies already do this minute tweaking of ingredients.

Examples: Celexa to Lexapro. Effexor to Pristiq.

What is different in the TPP?

[99th_Monkey]

16. please see

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6885636

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/10/16/leaked-tpp-chapter-exposes-sweet-deals-big-pharma-and-us-bully-tactics

[blue neen]

18. From what I can tell,

the situation would remain about the same in the U.S. with drug patents, but the "evergreening" and such would be extended to Asia, as proposed by the U.S. and Japan. Feel free to correct me if this is wrong.

IMHO, this part of the TPP does not indicate that we should be kissing our generic drugs goodbye. It almost seems like status quo for the U.S. With that being said, though, if Big Pharma finds a way to increase their filthy profits, they sure as heck will.

[99th_Monkey]

21. True, it mainly screws other nation's people more than US

it just expands and further codifies an already deplorable situation,
which I see no merit in defending.

The whole thing stinks to high heaven IMHO.

[marym625]

3. I can't understand how ANY Democrat would want the TPA to pass.

So what if they trust President Obama? Do they have such blind faith that we'll have a president after him they can give such blind faith to? Does anyone remember the election in 2000?

There are so many other things in the TPA that are just wrong.

And since when does negotiation powers translate to the power to make the damn thing law?

I just don't get it

[Art_from_Ark]

7. It's truly bizarro world

[marym625]

8. You said it!

[tritsofme]

5. All generic drugs will be confiscated in 24 business hours.

[Hoyt]

9. In many poor countries, name brand drugs are cheaper than generics here. In any event,

India is not part of TPP, so the concern is hyperbole. India will continue to refuse to recognize patents, and continue counterfeiting of drugs. They'll be fine.

TPP won't increase patents here, but does attempt to get countries to recognize patents. Drugs will still be far cheaper there.

With all that said, we do need to revise our drug laws here, including how companies can recoup research and development costs.

[99th_Monkey]

13. TPP allows Big Pharma to extend patents on dubious grounds

"Provisions within the deal would expand patent rights for big pharmaceutical companies, which would keep important medicines overpriced around the world. One of these provisions, “patent term extensions,” would allow companies to extend their patents beyond the original twenty years, preventing other companies from bringing the medicine onto the generic market, which generally lowers costs by 30-80 percent. Other provisions would allow companies to re-patent drugs after twenty years for developing “new uses” or slightly altering the chemical.

These handouts, which allow companies to hold legal monopolies on sometimes life-saving medicines, will cause preventable suffering and deaths around the world. This is especially true for the developing countries in Asia. For example, the Presidents Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), which relies mostly on affordable generic drugs, would be forced to buy more expensive patent drugs and would greatly diminish access."
https://www.opendemocracy.net/conor-j-lynch/transpacific-partnership’s-big-pharma-giveaway

[blue neen]

14. How is this different than what Big Pharma does now?

I'm not seeing it.

[Hoyt]

19. Exactly, it's not different. I don't like the practice, though.

Consumers can help by not asking docs to prescribe the tweaked drug. But they don't. There are generics of some drugs that you have to take twice a day. But patients demand the costly once a day drugs. If an insurer tries to limit use of the once a day, consumers complain.

We do have to find away of handling really costly drugs without impeding development.

[blue neen]

20. The practice is known as "evergreening".

There are actual cases with the tweaking of medications that some of the most side-effect-inducing inert ingredients are taken out. Some people do better with the newer, patented form of the drug----if their insurance will pay for it!!!!!

Yes, there needs to be a better way.

[Faryn Balyncd]

10. By itself, this is more than sufficient reason to reject Fast Track.