The New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine (NZCPHM) has issued a policy statement on the implications of Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) and has called “ for openness and transparency in debating the potential health impacts of any free trade agreements such as the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), particularly on critical areas such as pharmaceutical pricing mechanisms, climate change mitigation and other environmental policy, and public policy.”
The statement goes on to note the issues that arise for PHARMAC and thus the interests of ordinary Kiwis including among them
- Removal of reference pricing (ability to achieve the lowest price for medicines).
- Changes to the length of patents (currently patents for new drugs last 20 years; when patents expire generics can be generated).
- Extending the period of data exclusivity (exclusive control of their clinical trial data by makers of the first (branded) drug, preventing the effective registration of generic versions of their products).
- Limiting the transport and availability of generic medicines.
- Removal of compulsory licensing (public health emergency provisions).
- Investor-state dispute resolution.
You can check out the full document here
You can fine their webpage here