What Big Pharma wants from the big trade deal

On Wednesday, a few pages from the secret Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement were published by Wikileaks and reported on by the New York Times. They seemed to indicate changes that go against the wishes of the pharmaceutical industry, eliminating language that sought to guarantee drug companies “competitive market-derived prices” when they sell overseas. 

But the pharmaceutical industry has been lobbying lawmakers on the TPP since the beginning, and shaping far more than this one section of the agreement, according to Lee Drutman, senior fellow at the New America foundation and author of “The Business of America Is Lobbying.”

Jay Taylor, head of international affairs for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America says the industry is seeking, among other things, vital protections of intellectual property. But Judit Rius Sanjuan, head of the Doctors Without Borders’ Access Campaign, says these protections could drive up the price of lifesaving drugs in the developing world.