AIDS research group amfAR has taken a stand against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-nation trade deal for which President Obama hopes to gain "fast-track" authority.
According to a new amfAR report, the TPP's provisions about pharmaceutical companies could increase the cost of drugs in the developing world. The report claims that the trade deal's provisions would hinder AIDS treatment, because it could delay the introduction of generic, lower-cost treatments.
The report suggests the TPP could expand intellectual property protections and expand what qualifies for patents, which "would tilt the playing field in favor of drug companies," Vox explains. The provisions could delay the availability of generic medicines, because during the large companies' patent monopolies over the medicines, other companies couldn't create generic versions.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Vox notes that the TPP could also enforce "data exclusivity," requiring generic producers to conduct their own clinical trials, rather than using data from the large companies' original tests. Conducting additional trials would cost generic producers time and resources, which could also delay generics' introduction into the market.
"The global community would never have achieved its successes in addressing the HIV epidemic if the terms of the proposed TPP were the international standard in 2001," amfAR said in the report, adding that the TPP's provisions "show a disregard for public health."
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
