Canadian generics group hits out at trade deal
The IP concessions in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) are the latest hit for access to affordable prescription medicines for Canadians, according to the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA).
Jim Keon, president of the CGPA, claimed that the agreement is disappointing for the vast majority of surveyed Canadians who believe that access to more affordable prescription medicines is the most important aspect of the negotiations.
At the end of September, the US and Canada joined Mexico in reaching a deal to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The following day, the CGPA issued a statement claiming that Canada was “not at the table when harmful” IP provisions were negotiated between the US and Mexico.
Under the USMCA, the period of market exclusivity for biosimilar drugs has been extended to ten years from the current period of eight years in Canada.
“Biologic medicines represent the fastest-growing cost segment of healthcare spending, and these delays will be costly to patients, businesses that sponsor employee drug plans, private payers and our industry,” said Keon.
The association added that a recent poll it had undertaken found that four in five Canadians felt that it is important that the negotiations should not delay Canadians’ access to more affordable versions of expensive biologic drugs.
Four in five Canadians also said it was important that the agreement did not create new barriers for the implementation of National Pharmacare, a health insurance system, in Canada.
“While the government of Canada says it is committed to improving access to necessary prescription medication and reducing the amounts Canadian governments pay for these drugs, this is unfortunately not what they have achieved by agreeing to concessions that reduce access to essential medicines and increase costs for those who pay for drugs,” said Keon.
In September 2017, Canada’s IP regime for pharmaceuticals was amended as a result of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) signed with the EU.
The Office of the Parliamentary Budget (which supports the Canadian Parliament by providing analysis) conservatively estimates that the two-year patent term included in CETA will cost Canadians more than $500 million annually, according to the CGPA.
Patentees can apply for a two-year certificate of supplementary protection (CSP) for drugs containing a new medicinal ingredient, or a new combination of medicinal ingredients, and protected by an eligible patent (formulation patents are ineligible).
The term of a CSP, at two years, is shorter than the five-year supplementary protection certificate in the EU and is the minimum requirement under CETA.
“The pharmaceutical IP provisions included in the final text are extensive, and other aspects of the text are concerning,” concluded Keon.
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