The final draft of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) awaits Congressional approval.
However, the American University Washington College of Law's Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP) conducted a study on the impact of the Agreement. It submitted a report analyzing the U.S. Trade Representative’s summary of the Korean FTA. In its report, PIJIP expressed its concerns on the provisions exerted by the new FTA pharmaceutical proposals.
The proposed trade pact creates greater restrictions on the pharmaceutical sector than previous agreements. PIJIP feels the pact will thwart attempts to negotiate lower consumer drug prices in the U.S. and Korea.
The new FTA also includes a chapter on pharmaceuticals that imposes rules on the reimbursement of drugs under Korea's national insurance. Its IP provisions exceed World Trade Organization (WTO) rules on patents and registration data. These rules have been designed to delay the entry of generic drugs into the Korean market.
Though the actual provisions are still hazy, PIJIP Associate Director Sean Flynn feels the pact will restrict both governments from negotiating reduced prices through public drug formularies. Flynn also feels that “many of the provisions here will be greater than controversies surrounding the Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme included in the Australia-U.S. FTA.”
The PIJIP report also said that, although the Korea’s FTA basically follows the same pattern, few additions and subtractions will further reduce the two countries’ ability to use public drug formularies to negotiate lower prices.
The new changes are: the inclusion of pharmaceutical reimbursement restrictions to “medical devices,” “the commitment to increase access to innovative products,” the absence of language on mandatory “transparency” provisions, and the creation of an independent review “body” for all of Korea’s listing decisions.
URL: http://domino.american.edu/AU/media/mediarel.nsf/1d265343bdc2189785256b8100
71f238/4720a0c8f1c1b542852572b8006baf12?OpenDocument