Vote against trade bill continues debate over generic access

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday rejected the first of a series of trade bills, placing the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement in jeapordy and ensuring a continued debate between branded and generic pharmaceutical manufacturers over the trade pact’s possible impact on the availability of generic drugs. 

 

“In today’s debate on the Trade Promotion Authority, members of the U.S. House of Representatives rightly expressed strong reservations about the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” Ralph Neas, president and CEO of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, said on Friday. “As it stands now, TPP will make it harder for the U.S. generic industry to sell its products overseas. That is because the intellectual property provisions in TPP are designed to give longer protection to patented drugs and postpone the entry of cost-saving generic medicines. The U.S. generic industry cannot support a TPP that benefits only one side of the pharmaceutical industry, jeopardizing the right of patients in America and around the world to have timely access to affordable medicines.”

 

The New York Times recently reported that the Obama administration is no longer demanding protection for pharmaceutical prices under the trade agreement, which critics suggest will empower pharmaceutical manufacturers to command higher reimbursement rates.