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 In a letter to be published in The Lancet medical journal, academics
and medical associations from seven of the 12 countries negotiating
the Trans-Pacific Partnership voiced their concerns over the deal,
which seeks to cut tariffs and set common standards on intellectual
property.
"Rising medicine costs would disproportionately affect already
vulnerable populations, obstructing efforts to improve health equity
within and between countries," they wrote in the letter.
"We call on our governments to publicly release the full (TPP) draft
text, and to secure independent and comprehensive assessments of the
health and human rights consequences of the proposed agreement for
each nation."
The letter was signed by 27 academics, doctors and health
professionals, including the heads of the Public Health Association
of Australia, the Public Health Association of New Zealand, the
Canadian Public Health Association, the Vietnam Public Health
Association and the Malaysia AIDS Council.
With the TPP talks nearing completion, one of the thorniest
outstanding issues is the monopoly period for biologic drugs, which
include some of the latest cancer treatments, such as Roche Holding
AG's Herceptin for breast cancer and Merck & Co's Gardasil for
cervical cancer.
The United States protects biologics for 12 years, while Japan
protects them for eight years and Australia for five. Some other
countries like Chile have no special protections at all.
The issue is particularly difficult for Australia and New Zealand,
which have taxpayer-funded subsidy schemes for medicines. Costs
could balloon if cheaper generic drugs are slower to come to market.
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Deborah Gleeson, a lecturer at Australia's La Trobe University and
one of the letter's authors, estimates that generic versions of the
10 most expensive drugs available under that country's
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme would save more than A$200 million a
year.
The Australian and New Zealand trade ministers have both said they
will do nothing to undermine public health programs.
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said on Jan. 27 that the
United States had argued that data protection can help promote
innovation and make sure that drugs come to markets earlier, but
acknowledged the issue was "one of the most difficult."
"Our goal is on one hand to promote innovation and creativity in
this country, and also to ensure access to affordable medicines,
particularly in developing countries," he told a congressional
hearing.
(Reporting by Krista Hughes; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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