TPP leaks reveal that poor people in poor countries will die because of TPP [View all]

[brentspeak]

Unless, of course, they can afford premium, monopoly drug prices.

If, by some random chance, some corporate shill who claims to love poor people in other countries says otherwise, you'll know he/she/it is full of crap.

http://www.healthline.com/health-news/would-the-trans-partnership-boost-drug-prices-and-endanger-access-061215

Would the Trans-Pacific Partnership Boost Drug Prices and Endanger Access?

snip

Currently, a patent lasts for 20 years, giving drug companies ample time to reap the rewards of their drug research. After a patent expires, other companies are free to manufacture the same drug. That lowers prices, making medications more affordable. But the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) may change that system.

snip

In the case of pharmaceutical patents, the TPP appears to offer much stronger protections for drug companies than those set by TRIPS. Patents could be extended beyond 20 years, delaying the rate at which generics can come to market, for example. Poor countries would also have reduced ability to get brand-name drugs at generic costs. Medicare and other government programs around the world could also lose their bargaining power to get generic drugs at reasonable prices.

There are more provisions to beef up patents in ways that global health advocates fear will hurt patients. A wider range of drugs would be eligible for patents, including “me-too” drugs that don’t improve the effectiveness of existing drugs. Some surgical and diagnostic techniques could also be patented, meaning doctors could only use the methods if they paid the patent holder. Provisions that would protect data would also force drug manufacturers looking to introduce a generic drug to conduct their own safety and efficacy studies, which costs money and exposes patients to added risk.

“The TPP proposes to strengthen, lengthen, [and] broaden the pharmaceutical industry’s monopoly protections,” said Peter Maybarduk, director of the Global Access to Medicines Program at the U.S. good governance group Public Citizen. “That will limit generic competition and therefore access to affordable medicines for all the countries involved.” These concerns were echoed by Doctors Without Borders in a letter to President Obama, warning “unless certain damaging provisions are removed, the TPP has the potential to become the most harmful trade pact ever for access to medicines.”