Latest news about the TPP

May 16, 2013- ONG Derechos Digitales: Ex jefe de negociaciones del TPP pide una posición firme y no integrarse al tratado "de calquier manera" (links to derechosdigitales.org)

May 6, 2013- The University of Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences: Access to medicines key to reducing asthma attacks (links to fmhs.auckland.ac.nz)

April 25, 2013- El Espectator: Nueva amenaza para la libertad en internet (links to elspectador.com)

April 12, 2013- Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics: The High Price of 'Free Trade': US Trade Agreements and Access to Medicines

April 9, 2013- The Sydney Morning Herald: Generic drugs a key to the curing of budgetary ills (links to smh.com.au)

April 1, 2013 Analysis: India’s Supreme Court Upholds Strict Patent Standards and Patients’ Right to Access to Affordable Medicines; Court dismisses unmeritorious court challenge by drug giant

April 1, 2013 Patent's defeat in India is Key Victory for Generic Drugs

April 1, 2013 Novartis Cancer-Drug Patent Denied by India Supreme Court

March 27, 2013- Truthout: TransPacific Partnership Will Undermine Democracy, Empower Transnational Corporations (links to truth-out.org)

March 17, 2013-The Nation: Avoid Mistakes of the West: Stiglitz (links to nationmultimedia.com)

March 17, 2013-Bangkok Post: Stiglitz warns not to expect a quick global recovery (links to bangkokpost.com)

March 14, 2013-IP Watch: IPRs Among "Most Challenging" Issues As TPP Talks Accelerate (links to ip-watch.org)

March 13, 2013-Inside U.S. Trade: TPP Countries Will Not Discuss New Pharmaceutical IPR Text at Next Round (links to wtonewsstand.com)

March, 2013- Doctors Without Borders Access Briefing 2013: Trading Away Health: The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (links to citizen.org)

March 8, 2013-TPP Countries Poised to Revisit U.S. Access to Medicines Proposal (Inside U.S. Trade)

For older news, visit the Trans-Pacific Partnership news archive

Public Citizen Applauds EU Commission Call for Removal of Linkage Between Patents and Generic Medicines Authorization

Today, the European Commission issued a formal request to Italy to remove linkage between patents and generic medicines authorization which it says is causing delays in generics reaching the market. The Commission highlighted that patent linkage procedures place generic drugs at a disadvantage on the market.

The European Commission’s announcement can be found here: http://www.egagenerics.com/pr-2012-01-27.html and the details of the news can be reached from here: http://www.ip-watch.org/2012/01/31/european-commission-orders-italy-to-drop-patent-linkage-delaying-generics/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=alerts

Sharing these concerns, the Director General of the European Generics Medicines Association (EGA) stated, “In this time of severe economic difficulty faced by European citizens and public health authorities, it is of crucial importance that patients can access affordable treatment with no unnecessary delays. Delays in access to generic medicines were deemed unacceptable by the pharmaceutical sector inquiry and the economic crisis makes such blocks as patent linkage totally unjustifiable.” See the EGA press release here: http://www.egagenerics.com/pr-2012-01-27.html.

The TPPA IP chapter contains provisions on linking marketing approval to patent status (see Article 9.5 of the U.S. proposal). Under patent linkage, even spurious patents may function as barriers to generic drug registration. Patent linkage can facilitate abuse, since the financial benefits to patent holders of deterring generic market entry may outweigh risks of penalties. The effect of linking the drug regulatory process to patents has a deleterious effect on access to affordable medicines which is recognized by many authorities, including the European Commission. The U.S. is one of the only countries in the world which advocates for patent linkage provisions in order to protect its domestic pharmaceutical industry (aka Big Pharma), and we encourage negotiating countries to take a closer look at how their proposal would affect access to affordable medicines in their countries.

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