PHRMA VOICES SUPPORT FOR CAFTA PATENT PROVISIONS

Nothing in the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) undermines global trade rules that allow developing countries to access pharmaceuticals, PhRMA said in a statement that counters critics who argue the trade deal favors large drugmakers at the expense of poor nations' health needs.

CAFTA balances the need for strong intellectual property regimes with the flexibility to accommodate public health emergencies, said Ken Johnson, senior vice president of PhRMA. He issued the statement June 14, the day the Senate Finance Committee considered legislation to implement the trade deal.

Strong patent rights provide incentives for developing products that improve the health and quality of life of people around the world, Johnson said. "New launches of pharmaceutical products more than doubled in Jordan as a result of strong intellectual property laws it enacted after signing the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement," he said. Countries without strong intellectual property regimes, like India, have very poor access to new medicines, Johnson added.

But critics of CAFTA and other U.S. trade agreements contend they block developing nations from obtaining less expensive drugs. For example, the agreements include provisions that give brand firms at least five years of marketing exclusivity in developing nations, which could delay generic drug approvals beyond that of even the U.S. The deals also require developing nations to grant patent extensions to brand firms to account for delays in the regulatory approval process in developing nations, according to a June 9 report issued by Democratic staff on the House Government Reform Committee.

The Office of U.S. Trade Representative approved CAFTA in May 2004. The full House is expected to vote on CAFTA ratification in June, while the full Senate is likely to vote in July, according to a Congressional source.