Opposition MPs cry foul over minister’s misleading explanations on TPP medicine patents

November 12, 2015     Source : The Malay Mail Online

PETALING JAYA, Nov 12 — Opposition lawmakers criticised trade minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed today for apparently misrepresenting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement on the length of drug patents.

They pointed out that drug patents and data exclusivity were extended to eight years in the Pacific free trade treaty, not five as the international trade and industry minister previously announced.

“So that means our minister, who has signed the agreement, doesn’t know what is in the agreement. This is horrifying,” Klang MP Charles Santiago said today at the PKR headquarters.


The DAP lawmaker said provisions under the TPP leave countries with two options: Either giving a new drug an eight-year patent, or give it five years but put in place measures that would give a similar effect for the following three years.

According to Santiago, the TPP also includes eight-year data exclusivity for biologics, which are a type of treatment derived from living organisms that Malaysia had never imposed restrictions on before. Many new cancer treatments are biologics.

The opposition MP said the agreement means that citizens will not have affordable access to generic drugs or “biosimilar” medicine, the generic equivalent for biologics, for eight years after they are released.

Santiago said new treatments for cancer, HIV and rheumatism rely on biologics innovations.
“The role of government is to protect the rights of people, especially on public health policies. It has to provide protection for people, but right now, the government has signed away that right to multinational corporations,” Santiago said.

PKR MP Nurul Izzah, who is also a member of the bipartisan TPP caucus in Parliament, said the revelations from the released TPP text were disappointing as Malaysia was well known for affordable healthcare through its generic medicine policies.

She also pointed out that the agreement effectively allows old medicines with modifications to be patented.

“To assuage fears, MITI has said that the TPP will not allow for patent extension, and that the government has agreed to extend this privilege to biologics, completely dismissing the importance of affordable medicines to the people of Malaysia,” the Lembah Pantai MP said, using the initials for the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

“However, the TPP text paints a very different picture.”

PKR lawmaker Wong Chen said although approvals for trade deals depend on agreement by Cabinet members and do not require parliamentary approval, they would be looking into opposing any negative new Bills and law amendments required to ratify the TPP.

“At every single point that we can, when it is wrong, we must stop them at those stages. And if we can defeat some of these bills, the TPP will be stopped,” the Kelana Jaya MP said.
The trade deal, shrouded in controversy due to the secrecy involved in its negotiations, was made public last week.

TPP negotiations among 12 nations were concluded last month, involving Malaysia, the US, Canada, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico and Peru.
Mustapa had previously told reporters that Malaysia would not support anything that adds time extensions to patents and that delays manufacturing of generic drugs.
Parliament is expected to debate the TPP early 2016.