[First reported by Politico] On April 9, 2016, the Obama Administration sent a document to Congress defending the TPP against criticism from the pharmaceutical industry that they did not get enough from the deal. The administration document includes a four page “Background on TPP Biopharma Provisions” in the TPP“. The memo is a useful (if incomplete) description of many of the ways that the TPP will make drug monopolies more common, stronger and longer, and drug prices higher. The document also included two attachments: “TPP and the Conflict over Drugs: Incentives for Innovation Versus Access to Medicines”, by Lee Branstetter. Assessing the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Volume 2: Innovations in Trade Rules. The Peterson Institute for International Economics, and “Trans-Pacific Dreams”, by Steve Usdin, Washington Editor. BioCentury
The Obama Administration was apparently happy to share one of the quotes highlighted in the BioCentury article:
“THE TPP WILL STILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS THE WORST EVER TRADE AGREEMENT FOR ACCESS TO MEDICINES.”
Rohit Malpani, MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES