A major AIDS research group says the TPP will make it harder to fight AIDS

[Kurska]

While the Trans-Pacific Partnership is usually described as a trade agreement, it includes a number of provisions that have little to do with promoting international trade. One of the most important examples: provisions championed by big pharmaceutical companies that would delay the introduction of low-cost, generic versions of life-saving medicines. That could have significant and potentially dangerous ramifications for global public health.

A new report from the prominent AIDS research group amfAR argues that these changes would drive up the price of some drugs that are desperately needed in the developing world. The group says that would hamper the global fight against AIDS (and other diseases) in a way that would ultimately cost lives.

When a drug company invents a new drug, it is granted a patent monopoly — usually around 20 years — on the drug to help it recoup its research and development costs. After the patent expires, other companies are free to make competing versions of the drug, known as generics.

Generic drugs are especially important for low- and medium-income countries because they tend to be dramatically cheaper than name-brand pharmaceuticals. Generic drugs are also heavily used by international public health groups such as Doctors without Borders because lower prices allow their donors dollars to go further. From amfAR's report:

http://www.vox.com/2015/5/11/8584025/tpp-amfar-aids-generics

TPP will literally kill people.

Literally.

[Cerridwen]

1. Direct link to amfAR's Issue Brief, May 2015:

http://www.amfar.org/uploadedFiles/_amfarorg/Articles/On_The_Hill/2015/IB_TPP_Brief_RC_050615.pdf

From their Summary:

Summary

• Background:

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
is likely to become the largest U.S. free trade
agreement (FTA) in history.


• The Issue:

Leaked texts of the proposed TPP reveal
that it will expand existing intellectual property (IP)
protections on pharmaceutical products, which will
compromise access to affordable generic medicines
for diseases such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, tuberculosis,
and hepatitis C. The TPP goes even further than
previous FTAs in increasing these IP protections.

• amfAR’s View:

By providing avenues for pharmaceutical companies to extend IP protection
beyond what is required by current international
standards, the TPP could greatly delay the entrance
of generic competition for much-needed medicines
and keep prices high. Doing so would continue an
unacceptable and dangerous trend of irrevocable
expansion of IP protections at the expense of access
to medicines and would serve as a justification for
even more aggressive measures in future FTAs.

More at .pdf linked above.

[historylovr]

2. K & R

[Autumn]

3. How do they know the TPP will make it harder to fight AIDS?

It's a secret and that can be fixed when they release it before the Senators vote on it and it's put up for discussion and they should just trust Obama on this TPP.


As a person who lost a family member to AIDS this is disgusting and offensive to the very core of my soul. The ultimate betrayal by politicians and the President who is pushing this and keeping it secret except for what has been leaked such as this information. When it's passed this will never be fixed. Never.

[Autumn]

4. This OP

kick

[jeff47]

5. But we have to open markets where we already have free trade agreements!!!