Doctors Without Borders expresses their objections to TPP

[bullwinkle428]

"Many countries and treatment providers, including Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), rely on affordable quality generic medicines to treat life-threatening diseases. We need to keep prices low so our patients — and millions of others still waiting for treatment in the developing world — can get the medicines they need.

But right now the U.S. government is advocating for trade terms with eleven other Pacific Rim nations that could restrict access to generic medicines, making life-saving treatments unaffordable to millions.

Damaging intellectual property rules in the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) would give pharmaceutical companies longer monopolies over brand name drugs. Companies would be able to charge high prices for longer periods of time. And it would be much harder for generic companies to produce cheaper drugs that are vital to people’s health."

"Dear President Obama:

I am writing to urge you and the U.S. government to withdraw aggressive provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership that will restrict access to affordable medicines for millions of people. I am concerned about specific provisions in the intellectual property, investment and pharmaceutical pricing chapters that will make it harder for patients, governments and treatment providers to access affordable generic medicines in developing countries Too many people already suffer and die because the medicines they need are too expensive or do not exist. I cannot stand by as this proposed agreement threatens to restrict access even further. Through its global health programs, the U.S. has helped millions of people living in developing countries, and continues to invest heavily to end and control some of the world’s most devastating diseases. I urge you to ensure that the final text of the TPP does not sabotage these efforts and existing programs. Medicines should not be a luxury."

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/help-us-fix-tpp

[Autumn]

1. Truth. Medicines should not be a luxury.

'But right now the U.S. government is advocating for trade terms with eleven other Pacific Rim nations that could restrict access to generic medicines, making life-saving treatments unaffordable to millions.'

[daleanime]

18. +1

[cali]

2. useless dogooders

What the fuck do they know? That was just the draft chapter. Our great and noble President would never allow such a thing.

[nenagh]

29. cali, NB to understand 1:19 and beyond in above video...extend monopoly protection on medicines,

"Keeping prices sky high for longer and blocking generic drugs from entering the market"

TPP NEW RULES- Allow 20 year patents to be granted for MODIFICATIONS of existing drugs..

Or a new dosage...

Or new formulations...

Even if there is no real improvement in efficacy for patients..

Also proposes surgical methods be patentable.

It would appear that the TPP New Rules allow patent drug protection well beyond 20 years and potentially indefinitely with modifications to the original patented molecule, or a new dosage or a different formulation.. which often occurs after a new drug is released.

(At least, that is how I'm understanding the above)

EDIT: in Canada, pantoprazole sodium is a generic medication. A new formulation is now available of pantoprazole magnesium and it is brand name.
Under the new TPP rules...would the patent protection apply to the original pantoprazole sodium and the new pantoprazole magnesium...thus extending patent protection for both molecules for 20 years + 20 years?

Big Pharma must be smiling all the way to the bank and back.

[cali]

31. it's called greening and it sucks

And that's how I understand it too

[BeanMusical]

40. Damn Obama haters!11!

[xynthee]

3. Can ANYone change his mind on this?

It certainly doesn't seem so.

[Capt. Obvious]

4. They're ignorant

[Dr. Strange]

21. Nice post, Michael Jackson.

[Capt. Obvious]

24. That's Mr. Jefferson

[JustAnotherGen]

5. I appreciate them being specific

They don't oppose the TPP but intellectual property piece:


I am concerned about specific provisions in the intellectual property, investment and pharmaceutical pricing chapters that will make it harder for patients, governments and treatment providers to access affordable generic medicines in developing countries.

I urge you to ensure that the final text of the TPP does not sabotage these efforts and existing programs.

I hope it's taken to heart and they do that for the common good of all people. I agree with him.

But it needs to limited to common good 'products'.

[cali]

14. many, many organizations have been specific in their objections and/or opposition

I've posted those specific objections, from such organizations as the Natural Resources Defense Council, repeatedly

[magical thyme]

20. there are many, many specific provisions in TPP that are objectionable, to put it mildly

I haven't read a single specific provision within TPP that I agree with.

Most of what I've read scares the daylights out of me.

[JustAnotherGen]

23. It's NY Times - but it is pretty succinct

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/12/11/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-trans-pacific-partnership/

Intellectual Property

Intellectual property: The leaked intellectual property chapter revealed that the U.S. has been pushing stronger copyright protections for music and film, as well as broader and longer-lasting applicability of patents. It would also make the approval process more difficult for generic drug makers and extend protections for biologic medicines, which has concerned several members of Congress. Public health and open internet groups have campaigned hard for years around these issues, and public intellectuals like Joe Stiglitz have warned against using the treaty to "restrict access to knowledge."

I'm perfectly AOK with the first sentence in that. I think artists and creators need protections. Our film industry is a HUGE export. Part of the pushback against more minorities in lead roles has been the inability to sell them in asian markets. Yet - all kinds of theft still happens whether Denzel Washington or Bruce Willis is the lead.

And it's why my husband (a juried artist) does NOT keep a website of his work and has commissioned pieces that are functional (think a repurposed sculpted garden table and chairs) and puts people under contract that his work won't show up all over the place. He was doing marine life as functional seating in Paris before he came here in 2001 - a Chinese company ripped off his designs and lowered that value of pieces he had not yet sold. It's hard for people who don't see what goes into the creative process - or the hammer and anvil and fire on an 85 degree day. I do.

What's good for one artist in the US is good for all. And they have just as much value as factory workers.

But Pharma? No - that's common good. Not just ours - everyone.

[magical thyme]

25. TPP is about a lot more than intellectual property. Bottom line, it's about sovereignty.

Intellectual property is just one chapter.

I'm more concerned about giving corporations rights to sue local governments whose regulations impede on coporate profits.

And about those disputes being tried in front of an international tribunal made up of corporate cronies who can exact large fines from local people who dare interfere with a corporation's right to damage their environment, steal their resources, violate local labor laws, etc.

There is a LOT about TPP to hate and fear. I have not read a single thing about it that doesn't freak me out.

[JustAnotherGen]

39. I'm positive it is (more than intellectual property)

But I need to see the 'deets'. I'm not getting terrified for the end of America as we know it until it all comes together and is put out there in a detailed format. 90 Days is enough time for us to get vocal about what we like in it - and what we don't. Anything to protect our creative community - and one of our largest exports (the film industry) is good.

I think we can all agree - we don't want the people that make the world tolerable (art, musicians, writers, etc. etc. creators) - to continue to get screwed the way they are.

Let's wait and see - if they don't have that in there - then I won't support this. To me it's worthless.

[magical thyme]

41. America as I knew it ended some time ago...TPP simply codifies what is already happening.

"Anything to protect our creative community - and one of our largest exports (the film industry) is good."

Not if it is packaged with polluting the air we *all* breathe and the water we *all* drink, if it forces us to buy the water we drink taken from the aquifers right under our feet, ships more of our jobs overseas, and damages *all* of our lives.

[JustAnotherGen]

56. I never lived in that America

Too young, too female, too black to understand that world. That's not my country - that's Elizabeth Warren's.

[magical thyme]

57. it doesn't matter if you are young or old, female or male, black, white, brown, red, or yellow...

You still need air to breathe, water to drink, safe food to eat, access to health care.

The needs of individual interest groups do not take precedence over the basic needs of all.

As you stated above, public access to medicine needs to be addressed within the intellectual property rights section of TPP. But there can be no changes to TPP.

TPP is fundamentally flawed across all public needs because it gives corporations rights over governments and the people they purport to represent. Corporations already have more power than they should, through control of the media, bribery and coercion. This simply codifies it. Iow, it makes that power legal.

For example, Nestle Corporation sued small village after small village in Maine for years to increase their access to our water. Under TPP, they wouldn't even face our local courts. They would simply take it to a tribunal of corporate lawyers from another part of the world, who would fine poverty-stricken Maine for Nestle's lost potential profits...however much they claimed those profits might be. The local government would let them take however much water they wanted the moment they asked in order to avoid such fines.

Consider California. Right now, under severe drought conditions, they *should* be preventing Nestle and frackers from drawing down what little water they have left. Instead, under TPP, they wouldn't be able to without facing potentially massive fines.

[WillyT]

6. K & R !!!

[Omaha Steve]

7. Good for them!

K&R!

[erronis]

10. They are one of the few charities I support without hesitation.

[Enthusiast]

8. K&R! Thank you, Doctors Without Borders!

[antigop]

9. medicines should not be a luxury...neither should health care. nt

[riderinthestorm]

11. They're just haters who never loved him

( probably need to add this...)

[Ford_Prefect]

12. They'll never love Hillary, either.

Imagine that...


(Yes, sarcasm was involved)

[rhett o rick]

13. So what's the tally for and against the TPP?

Last edited Fri Apr 24, 2015, 12:07 PM - Edit history (1)

Against are unions, environmentalists, Doctors Without Borders, noted economists, progressive politicians.

In favor are Mitch McConnell and the Republicons, Pres Obama, candidate Clinton, the giant corps, Goldman-Sachs and Banksters, and of course Wall Frackin' Street.

Who am I missing?

[cali]

15. and lots of other not particularly progressive dems

Joseph Stiglitz and most public interest groups

[rhett o rick]

17. Thank you. The list against is long. nm

[Ichingcarpenter]

19. you forgot banksters and wall street on the favor side

other than that not a bad list.

[rhett o rick]

30. Thanks. I updated my post to include them. nm

[Doctor_J]

50. The BOG is going to have a tough time smearing this group

The racist argument is a non-starter. They're not union thugs. They don't sound like people who didn't get their ponies. They aren't part of the proletariat that's going to get screwed by this. What could their motives be?

[asiliveandbreathe]

16. During Dubya last year or so in office I recall

he went around the country trying to privatize social security....well we all know how that went..

I'm wondering, the debate now surrounds a trade deal and fast track...lacking any transparency..(learned perhaps by the open debate of the ss effort) by the corps - the President is held hostage by these corps..just as dubya was (trust me, I am no fan of dubya)..and WE need to take this fight to all corners of the world....

This just doesn't fit the Presidents SOP...are leaks intentional? - He really doesn't want this trade bill - he is only putting on..and WE need to fight back? Doctors without borders, for heaven sake, see what the corps are trying to do....This just doesn't fit - Mr. President..this is not who you are or who we are...is this payback for ACA?

This just doesn't fit - Mr. President..STOP NOW!

[raindaddy]

28. It completely fits the Presidents SOP, at some point HE needs to take some responsibility

The core of Obama's campaign was to change the way the people's business was being done in Washington, limit the access of lobbyists and transparency. That's just not even close to way he's governed...

It became apparent he was just blowing political smoke early on during health care negotiations. Instead of publicly negotiating in good faith with the drug companies to lower their extreme markups on drugs the White House agreed to oppose any congressional efforts to use the government's leverage to bargain for lower drug prices or import drugs from Canada -- they also agreed not to pursue Medicare rebates.

How does secretly protecting the obscene profits of PHARMA looking out for the middle class or fit into his campaign pledge ?

"I would not be doing this trade deal if I did not think it was good for the middle class,"
- Obama's response to liberal criticism of the TPP...

We're being completely naive if we believe that this President isn't capable of reassuring the public while behind the curtain supporting the interests of Wall Street and global corporations. Why, because he's done it before.

[asiliveandbreathe]

33. So Mccain or romney would have been any different...I shudder to think

President Obama tried to work in a bipartisan way, work with the republicans..compromise..not so bad..but perhaps so, considering this is how you perceive him to have governed...

I am not in agreement with him on TPP or fast track because of a lack of transparency - Corps are so strong, BIG PHARMA is so strong..along with wall st.. How do you suppose we fix this..elect a Republican?????

[raindaddy]

34. You're changing the subject...

The discussion was about Barack Obama, not Romney. In the context of the TPP I care more about the President that we elected to represent us....

We can begin to fix the situation by not making excuses for Democrats who are disingenuous, fail to follow through with basic campaign promises or lie to us.

One thing is certain we're not going to change anything by comparing Obama to completely sold out republicans.

[asiliveandbreathe]

35. So how do we the people vet our representation?

I am not making excuses - I am just trying to look at the whole picture as an analogy,and how ACA came to be...I am all for Universal Health Care..where were our reps...who isn't bought? - this country is so divided..we are not even debating among ourselves.just shooting the messenger....and their thoughts...putting words in our mouth...

I get into trouble when I ask questions....who isn't completely sold out? - How do we know? The Democratic voters were with the Prez on ACA - not necessarily the final outcome, but ACA wouldn't exist today without the bean counter - a little for you - a little for them - etc etc..and now many many people, paying their fair share - some getting a little help, have health care..

As Alan Grayson says - "do the most good for the most people"...with TPP and fast track, we only have bits and pieces..why is that? Who is calling the shots? just as big pharma called the shots within ACA, big greedy corps are calling the shots - and WE the people need to call it out!

[raindaddy]

36. I don't disagree with anything you just posted...

I'm in complete agreement, we the people need to stand up for our basic right to good faith and honest representation.And thoes are good questions to ask....

We also need to be honest with ourselves that our system of government has been completely corrupted by opening the floodgates of $$$ being thrown at our representatives by Wall Street and global corporations. And not be naive not to think they have an agenda and many of our political leaders are being paid very handsomely to be on board.

[asiliveandbreathe]

37. wholeheartedly agree - I looked to see if there was a petition re TPP

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/make-public-entire-trans-pacific-partnership-trade-pact-allowing-our-us-representative-agree-its-terms

99,000 to go by the 27th - so sad....this was only one I found...maybe a new one or try to kick it up?....

Be well....

[raindaddy]

38. Thanks asiliveandbreathe !!!

You too.....

[Caretha]

48. Your are ridiculous

No...don't elect a Republican...that's not your only choice.

The answer is ....Don't support a Democrat that endorses the same crap as a Republican.

Yell & scream about it. Tell them you won't vote for their Democratic asses that act like Republicans. Complain often & loudly when they do.

But the old tired meme of ...." How do you suppose we fix this..elect a Republican????? " is thinking in a circular way. That is not your only

choice, do you not realize that?

[democrank]

22. K & R

Doctors Without Borders make a strong case against TPP.

[Demeter]

26. We have survived and progressed as a species and culture 10,000 years without it

There is no imperative to lumber the people of this planet with Corporate Empire, not one!

There's every reason to tell the Corporations to take a long walk off a short pier...and they are going that way anyway. We can refuse to join them on that excursion.

[Hoyt]

27. Fortunately prescription drugs in poorer countries are often less than generics here.

Also, an expanding economy in poorer countries will help them in a lot of ways, including improving their health systems.

I really have no problem with patents being extended if -- and it's a big IF -- drug companies have to spread research costs over a longer period and are taxed for violating such restrictions. Further, I'd like to see some kind of restrictions (not necessarily in the trade agreement) on charging what the market will bear. Of course, that does work to poorer country's benefit because drug companies often charge substantially less than they charge in the USA.

Theoretically, if drug companies were fair, an extended patent should actually lower the cost of medications because the company can charge off the actual research costs over a longer period.

[QC]

32. They just want a pony. n/t

[Surya Gayatri]

42. Médecins Sans Frontières, one of the best-run and most worthy NGOs on the planet.

?itok=KL5q-Siz

[LiberalLovinLug]

43. The TPP is NAFTA on steriods

And under NAFTA, Canada is, as we speak, being sued by the drug company Eli Lilly for "loss of profits" because of our generic drug availability sooner than they'd like. One reason why we have cheaper drug prices here. Say goodbye to individual or States agreements with ordering those cheaper drugs from Canada.

[blkmusclmachine]

44. Everyone knows how rotten TPP would be for Americans. Even Obama, its biggest champion.

[QC]

45. kick

[Faryn Balyncd]

46. Generic prices, already rising, would go through the roof with TPP.

When the market was cornered on doxycycline, an antibiotic long out of patent (but very useful) prices were jacked up so that a course that was available for $4 18 months ago went to over $100.

If the pharmaceutical manufacturers get their way with intellectual property regulations throughout the world, expect them to send the prices for generics to the strosphere (even as they outsource their own production to the same Asian factories).

[riderinthestorm]

47. Pm kick for all those who were working or watching their grandkids

or something and missed this...

[Doctor_J]

49. these guys just don't understand civics or chess

[Skittles]

52. you forgot the third 'c'

CHEERLEADING

[YOHABLO]

51. TPP is a bad deal. Obama, for some reason is pushing this => (hood-winked). We're screwed.

[Cha]

53. No, they're not "haters".. they are intelligent people who can respectfully ask for what they want..

[AtomicKitten]

54. Cannot stand the kowtowing to the goddamn pharmaceutical companies.

Both parties continue to allow them to price-gouge Americans; doesn't surprise me that's written into the TPP. It's disgraceful really.

[AzDar]

55. K & R

[MerryBlooms]

58. rec & kick

[smirkymonkey]

59. +1000

[Adrahil]

60. I support them in this effort. n/t