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medicines


"BRICS can ensure affordable drugs"
While ‘data exclusivity’ clauses will not feature in the India-European Union free trade agreement (FTA), the threat posed by the impending deal to the world’s supply of cheap generic drugs is far from over.
Korea-EU FTA to put Seoul at public health crossroads
Pharmaceuticals might not have been the most discussed sector before the Korea-European Union Free Trade Agreement came into effect from July 1.
Millions will die if India stops AIDS drugs — UN
Millions of people dependent on life-saving generic drugs to treat HIV/AIDS will die if India stops producing cheap drugs for the disease due to its trade deal with the European Union, the head of UNAIDS warned on Tuesday.
ACT UP-Paris wakes up the European Commissioner for Trade in Belgium
This morning, in a small town in the region of Gent, Belgium, activists from Act Up-Paris woke up the European Commissioner for Trade in front of his house. They unfurled a banner which said ‘De Gucht, AIDS accomplice’.
5 WikiLeaks revelations exposing the rapidly growing corporatism dominating American diplomacy abroad
One of WikiLeaks’ greatest achievements has been to expose the exorbitant amount of influence that multinational corporations have over Washington’s diplomacy.
US breaks UN AIDS summit commitment on access to treatment
The Asia Pacific Network of Positive People (APN+) is expressing outrage at ongoing free trade agreement negotiations by the United States with Vietnam and Malaysia that threaten access to medicines for HIV, TB, hepatitis-C as well as other diseases in these countries.
The Bangkok Declaration on free trade agreements & access to medicines
Statement of May 2011 against the increasingly rapid spread of Free Trade Agreements that put the profits of multinational pharmaceutical companies ahead of people’s right to health around the world.
India says ‘no’ to policy that would block access to affordable medicines
India formally announced at the UN High Level Meeting on HIV and AIDS that it will not accept data exclusivity, a provision harmful to access to affordable medicines, as part of a free trade agreement currently being negotiated with the European Union.
Shape of US TPP pharmaceuticals chapter emerges
The TPP chapter may be best seen as a significant step toward the pharmaceutical industry’s ultimate goal, which is a binding international agreement on drug pricing that would restrain the ability of governments to use collective purchasing power to demand prices below “market” levels.
Pharmac trade row heralds wider threat
Pharmac is being targeted by US drug companies as trade negotiations continue with the United States.
Health groups call for moratorium on FTAs, TRIPS-plus measures by developed nations
As the global community meets in New York for the United Nations General Assembly High Level Meeting on HIV and AIDS from 8 to 10 June 2011, networks of People living with HIV, health groups and treatment activists from around the world are calling for an immediate moratorium on all Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and TRIPS-plus measures.
Wrestling with Big Pharma
Canadians spend a lot of money (public and private) on health care and much of that is spent on drugs — some $23.4 billion in 2008. Provincial insurance plans are desperately trying to cope, looking to initiatives like the recently passed Ontario law that caps prices of generic drugs at 25 per cent of the brand name equivalent.
Goff: Pharmac ’absolute bottom line’
Labour leader Phil Goff says his party would not put government drug buying agency Pharmac on the block to gain a free trade deal with the United States.
Karl De Gucht writes Andris Piebalgs on topic of European Union IPR demands on India and other developing countries
KEI has received a copy of a May 16, 2011 letter from Karl De Gucht to Andris Piebalgs, which discusses (1) the EU-India FTA, and (2) Relations between IPR and development policies.
Protect Pharmac from US FTA - Greens
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take Pharmac off the table in Trans Tasman Partnership (TTP) negotiations.
Pharmac under fire ahead of US free-trade talks
Some of New Zealand’s most prominent businesspeople are rallying to the support of drug buying body Pharmac as lobbying firm Saunders Unsworth mounts a campaign against the agency ahead of free trade negotiations with the US.
PhRMA calls for strong IP protection for biologics in TPP FTA
US pharmaceutical industry association the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America is calling on the US Trade Representative to include strong intellectual property provisions, such as 12-year data protection for follow-on biologics, in the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.
India, Mercosur "must withstand EU pharma demands"
Nations currently negotiating trade deals with the European Union (EU) have been warned that they must resist European demands which could threaten access to medicines in emerging and developing countries.
No compromise in our stance on IPR, says India
India will not compromise its stand or take a position on intellectual property rights (IPR), especially on pharmaceuticals, beyond its domestic law and agreements as mandated under the aegis of the global trade body—World Trade Organization (WTO).
India-EU FTA carries severe public health consequences
After four years of talks, India and the European Union are narrowing down their differences on a bilateral Free Trade Agreement that critics in India and elsewhere say could have a devastating impact on public health by hampering access to life-saving drugs for millions of people.