Wed 29 Jul 2015 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
The Prime Minister has confirmed concerns the costs of medicines are likely to rise, and choice could be limited, under the Trans-Pacific Partnership - something which could impact key HIV medications. Advocates are concerned that under TPPA provisions being vigorously promoted by the United States government, any countries which opted out of HIV, and any other medications produced by the global pharmaceutical companies and used instead much cheaper generic versions, would be in breach of the rules of the partnership and be exposed to legal action by the drug companies. John Key has confirmed the controversial deal will mean a high probability patents on medicines would be extended. "That means the Government will have to pay for the original drug rather than the generic for a little bit longer,” he's stated. "But for consumers that won't make any difference because, you know, on subsidised drugs you pay $5 for your prescription so the Government may incur slightly more costs there." HIV+ men’s support group Body Positive has already expressed concern Pharmac could end up forced to pay for high priced HIV medications when cheaper versions are available. The New Zealand AIDS Foundation has stated this could impact the potential to get support for a PrEP roll-out in New Zealand, as cost will be a big hurdle. Executive Director Shaun Robinson has said indications are that Truvada, one of the most-used PrEP drugs, could come off patent soon, with generic versions accessible as early as 2017, and stated “Provided the TPPA doesn't get in the way, generics would make a big difference”. The Green Party’s Rainbow and Health spokesperson Kevin Hague says the Prime Minister’s latest revelation is another reason we need to withdraw from the deal. “John Key has been pretending throughout the TPPA negotiations that the deal won’t damage our public health system, but he has finally come clean and admitted that the TPPA will mean medicines cost more in New Zealand,” he says. “The Government needs to tell the New Zealand public how Pharmac’s going to suddenly find millions of dollars to fund these more expensive medicines without passing those costs on to everyday Kiwis at the pharmacy counter. “New Zealanders should not have to pay more for their medicine because the Government is determined to have something to show for the thousands of hours they’ve spent negotiating this dead-end deal. “We should be protecting our public health system, not selling it down the river for a trade agreement that’s going to line the pockets of overseas corporations.” Labour leader Andrew Little says his party will not support the TPPA if it does make medicines more expensive.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 29th July 2015 - 8:53am