Doctors Without Borders: Asian Trade Deal Could Restrict Access to Affordable Generics

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement is kicking off another round of negotiations on Sunday in Australia and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is raising concerns about the tougher intellectual property rights that could restrict access to affordable generic drugs for many in Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN), which includes Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the six states with which ASEAN has existing FTAs, including Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

A leaked chapter from the negotiations, released this week by the non-governmental organization KEI International, shows that Japan and South Korea have made proposals that extend beyond what international trade rules require and thus undermine access to affordable generic drugs.

Part of the leaked chapter reads: “Each Party shall prevent applicants for marketing approval for pharmaceutical products which utilize new chemical entities from relying on or from referring to test or other data submitted to its competent authority by the first applicant for a certain period of time counted from the date of approval of that application. As of the date of entry into force of this Agreement, such period of time is stipulated as being no less than five years by the relevant laws of each Party.”

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement is kicking off another round of negotiations on Sunday in Australia and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is raising concerns about the tougher intellectual property rights that could restrict access to affordable generic drugs for many in Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN), which includes Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the six states with which ASEAN has existing FTAs, including Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

A leaked chapter from the negotiations, released this week by the non-governmental organization KEI International, shows that Japan and South Korea have made proposals that extend beyond what international trade rules require and thus undermine access to affordable generic drugs.

Part of the leaked chapter reads: “Each Party shall prevent applicants for marketing approval for pharmaceutical products which utilize new chemical entities from relying on or from referring to test or other data submitted to its competent authority by the first applicant for a certain period of time counted from the date of approval of that application. As of the date of entry into force of this Agreement, such period of time is stipulated as being no less than five years by the relevant laws of each Party.”