Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement Reached: Pharmaceutical Patent Rules to Change

An agreement has been reached on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal (TPP Agreement), as reported by Reuters on October 5, 2015.

One of the contentious issues that needed to be resolved was the duration of a patent’s monopoly that is provided for next-generation biotech drugs.  The United States and Australia negotiated a compromise, paving the way for the TPP Agreement.  As part of this compromise, the United States agreed that originating pharmaceutical companies would have a data exclusivity period shorter than its current 12 year period for new biologics, such as vaccines and anti-toxins. Canada currently has an 8 year data exclusivity period, and the rumour is that the TPP will provide for a period between 5 and 8 years.

The accord would phase out thousands of import tariffs as well as other barriers to international trade. It also would establish uniform rules on corporations’ intellectual property.

The TPP Agreement still needs to be ratified in many of the participating countries, including Canada and the United States.

Additional commentary reporting on the TPP agreement is available here.