The text of TPP is still being negotiated and, no surprise, it’s not going in the public’s favor. Now they’re stuffing anti-Obamacare language into TPP!
It was reported yesterday afternoon that Orrin Hatch is pulling the same corrupt move in 11th hour TPP negotiations as he did in the President’s health care reform negotiations back in 2009, to railroad into bill language an extension of patent times for biologics. To make matters worse, Hatch s trying to put more open patent exclusivity than he shoved into the ACA. Hatch is trying to overrule US law, Obamacare, by poison rules in TPP.
This is an Action Diary to #StopTPP and protest this Republican maneuver.
Sen. Hatch speaks for his coziest industry — pharmaceuticals — and specifically their innovations in brand name biologics and biosimilars (generics), the wonderful new remedies for many diseases: rheumatic diseases like Humira, cancer, asthma, and diabetes. Since the customers are a captive market Pharma price gouges as long as they can stay under the radar.
For only the duration of the patents, pharma price gouges as much as the market could bear. The failures of gov’t, pharma, insurance industries are dumped on patients, some of whom pay thousands per dose or die.
Once the patent expires generics are manufactured by companies competing with much lower prices. More business, more jobs, lowers the cost of health care, saves the sick patients from loss of treatment, fear, and loss of savings.
“We are alarmed by reports that US Senate Finance Committee Orrin Hatch says the US administration has “made progress” in talks with Australia and other TPP countries to find a way to increase data protection for costly lifesaving biologic drugs from eight years in the current TPP text to twelve years,”. Dr Patricia Ranald, Convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network said today.
According to the Bloomberg report copied below. Senator Hatch said “They're going to have to find a way of having the countries agree to change that formality in the TPP to 12 years…If Australia wants to be part of it, they have to meet our terms,” Senator Hatch added that he and the Australian trade minister discussed how they might solve this problem.
Doctor Ranald said that global pharmaceutical companies already have 20 years of monopoly patents on medicines before cheaper versions become available. Biologic medicines under patent, which treat cancer and other serious disease, cost thousands of dollars per treatment. They are only accessible to patients because they are subsidised by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Data protection is a separate monopoly which further delays the availability of cheaper forms of those medicines. The current Australian law is five years for data protection, but the TPP text requires administrative measures which would deliver a “market outcome” equivalent to an extra three years of monopoly, a total of eight years. Studies show that each year of delay in cheaper versions of these medicines would cost the PBS hundreds of millions of dollars.
“The extra three years of monopoly in the current TPP text is already unacceptable. It is outrageous that the US is demanding an even greater increase from 8 to 12 years. We call on the Australian and other governments to reject this proposal,” said Doctor Ranald.
During the 2009 health reform hearings, Sherrod Brown and Sheldon Whitehouse doggedly held the line against Hatch. Dems, under Ted Kennedy at the time, coalesced around relief to cancer patients with lower patent times for biologics (patents for biologics have been a commercial battlefield with overt and covert attacks for a long time). The strategy to reduce patent times was widely and easily justified with thousands of testimonials about Pharma’s irrational price gouging of cancer patients. Historical CSPAN coverage of all of the hearings exploded public awareness.
Towards the end of committee hearings, Hatch brought it up again and the fight reignited. Daily Kos was afire in support for Sens. Brown and Whitehouse, Jane at FireDogLake brought the message to CNN & MSNBC, and the fight to corporate Dems, Hatch’s proposal would hurt cancer patients.
Sen Kennedy was dead by then.
Watching every minute on CSPAN and many of us here watched and pored over every line, every new draft, and kept the discussion alive.
Suddenly one day the WH pivoted, Hatch won, over, no more discussion, and one last, or one of the last, final draft of the PPACA bill hit the internet:
Exclusivity
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides incentives to ensure that the innovation and development of new life saving medicines by universities and companies continues, as well as incentives to encourage the development of interchangeable biological products.
Brand manufacturers and innovators are awarded 12 years of data exclusivity from the approval date of the product. The first biosimilar applicant to demonstrate interchangeability receives a
full year of exclusivity
Well, technically it’s a little different & slightly better than that in the US. 12 years of Data Exclusivity explicitly would be HORRIBLE for the US, worse even than in ACA!
The bastard.
Today, all US families pay the cost of that 11th hour change. Huge transfer payments from taxpayers to big business is corporate welfare. Pharmaceutical companies bill desperately sick patients astronomical prices, covered by Medicare and Medicaid and paid by the taxpayers. Patients suffer, fear, and exhaust their families’ savings now, when relief is possible, but profits reign.
Yesterday’s news is that it’s happening all over. Australia is fighting the good fight as did Senators Brown and Whitehouse did for PPACA. In fact Hatch’s proposal sets us further back by overruling even ACA. Let’s help them and make sure they win this time.
“The extra three years of monopoly in the current TPP text is already unacceptable. It is outrageous that the US is demanding an even greater increase from 8 to 12 years. We call on the Australian and other governments to reject this proposal,” said Doctor Ranald.
“This demand highlights the flaws in the TPP, which is not about free trade, but is about the extension of monopolies and corporate rights. The TPP would also enable pharmaceutical and other global companies to bypass national courts and sue the Australian government in unfair international tribunals over domestic laws. US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilley is currently suing the Canadian government over a court decision which refused a patent for a medicine.
The Australian government has refused to conduct independent assessments of the economic, health and other impacts of the TPP. Sixty community organisations representing over two million Australians last week called for a Senate inquiry into the TPP, to enable a proper assessment of the TPP before Parliament votes on the implementing legislation.” said Dr Ranald.
Take action, make calls, be sure all of your social contacts hear about this Republican corruption in action.
Let’s tell them what we think!
Call the WH, call your Senators and your Reps and let’s all contact Hillary
Say, “This must Stop. NO TPP! Stop Price Gouging Sick Patients!“
#NotThisTPP