MP SPEAKS Malaysia has once again ‘made history’ by agreeing to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) that will go on to become one of the most dangerous trade pacts when it comes to access to affordable medicine, particularly in the developing world.
Trumpeting the done deal, International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed has released a vague press statement assuring the public they had done the right thing.
It should be noted that concluding a trade deal is an achievement only if it benefits the people and the nation. This is not evident for now.
The much-touted cost-benefit analysis has not been made public along with the bumiputera and national interests study.
He said the government had stood firm in ensuring Malaysians had full access to affordable medicine, but at the same time made provisions for pharmaceutical innovators to produce new drugs.
The minister’s commitment to ensure access to affordable medicine is not evident from details emerging from Atlanta.
This is because the hybrid compromise on life-saving biologic medicine (living organisms to treat illness such as cancer, etc) stipulates a five-year ‘lock-up period’ that protects companies’ data on confidential clinical trials.
The compromise allows the possibility of adding a further three years to that exclusivity period in accordance with the US system.
This means that an affordable life-saving generic medicine is only available to the people, especially in the developing South, after the eighth year.
Thus, TPPA rules would expand monopoly data protection for the pharmaceutical industry at the expense of people’s access to affordable medicines.
The compromise was necessary to break the impasse at the trade talks and appease the pharmaceutical industry and countries like Australia which insisted on a five-year rule.
From what little we know, it is clear that the deal will obstruct access to life-saving generic medicine, do away with public health safeguards as enshrined in international law and safeguard greedy pharmaceuticals by enhancing patent and data protection.
I therefore certainly do not understand how such a harmful trade pact can be in the interest of Malaysians when it stands to cut the lifeline of millions of people, the future generation and make big pharmaceuticals the real winners.
The Malaysian government has therefore clearly failed in its duty to ensure public health safety measures are not compromised for commercial reasons.
CHARLES SANTIAGO is DAP'S MP for Klang.
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