Trading Away Our Health

Doctors without Borders put it bluntly: “Unless damaging provisions are removed before negotiations are finalized, the TPP agreement is on track to become the most harmful trade pact ever for access to medicines in developing countries.”

Leaked drafts of the agreement include intellectual property rules that would:

• Expand drug and medical device patents, making medications and treatments unaffordable for millions of people. These patents could be extended indefinitely under the TPP, a process known as “evergreening.”
• Make it even harder to produce low-cost generic forms of medications.  
• Require patenting surgical techniques, medical tests and treatments. This would further restrict the access to these medical procedures, especially in poorer health systems.

 Learn more at www.stopthetpp.com and be sure to check out what the TPP means for our food, Internet censorship and taxpayers in the latest issue of the CWA News.