Good afternoon, my name is Aby Rajani. I'm a mother and a grandmother, and I care passionately about Canada and its legacy to our children and grandchildren. I also care deeply about the plight of the poor, not just in this country but around the world, and that's why I've plucked up the courage to speak to you today.
There are so many issues that concern me about the TPP, but there are two that I would like to focus on: medication, and the investor-state dispute settlement.
Starting with the effect of the TPP on the cost of medication, according to The Globe and Mail, December 6, 2015, the TPP would lead to three major problems. First, pharmaceutical companies would be able to evergreen their patents, making small changes to a drug to extend its protection from competition. Second, they would be able to extend patent protection if there are delays in the regulatory approval of a new product. Third, developers of advanced drugs, biologics, would be able to keep their clinical data private for up to eight years, thus making it difficult for competitors to create similar drugs.
All three of these accommodations to the pharmaceutical companies would involve delaying the introduction of lower-cost generic drugs, so that medication would be more expensive both in Canada and in poorer countries. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives states that extending patents because of regulatory delays in approving drugs would add an additional $636 million to the price of drugs in Canada, making drugs and pharmacare more costly.
Thank you.