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medicines

Ministry fears effects of FTA on healthcare system
6-Jun-2006 Hankyoreh
South Korean consumers will pay more for pharmaceuticals if US demands on a free trade agreement between the two countries are met, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
South American Ministers vow to avoid TRIPS-plus measures
1-Jun-2006 TWN
The Ministers of Health of ten South American countries issued a joint declaration on intellectual property committing themselves to avoid "TRIPS plus" provisions in bilateral and regional trade agreements, to facilitate the use of compulsory licensing and parallel importing and to avoid broadening the scope of patentability and the extension of patentable areas.
Bad blood over FTA
15-May-2006
Australia’s monopoly blood processor, CSL, has backed Red Cross calls for a ban on plasma imports and warned against opening up the nation’s supply network to overseas companies.
Honest approach required in Korea-U.S. FTA negotiation
15-May-2006
I read an article by Woo Seok-gyun, an official from the Korea Federation of Medical Groups for Health Rights (KFHR), regarding the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiation on medical care and education. Mr. Woo described the upcoming negotiation as a ’game of truth’ by the government.
US drug company appeals PBS decision
8-May-2006 ABC
It’s just over a year since the Australia US Free Trade Agreement came into force, opening the door for US drug companies to force a review of decisions about which drugs are subsidised by the Australian Government. Now that power is being used by the US drug company Eli Lilly.
A US Free Trade Agreement could threaten access to medicine in Thailand
26-Apr-2006 Oxfam
New stringent drug patent and marketing rules being negotiated in a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the US and Thailand would limit competition and reduce access to affordable medicines in Thailand.
US-FTA blocks medicine for many
24-Apr-2006
The Guatemalan pharmaceutical industry is the strongest company in Central America and among the first 10 in Latin America, but it is today threatened by the free trade agreement (FTA) with United States.
Trade-related intellectual property rights, access to medicines and human rights - Morocco
21-Apr-2006 3D
The briefing calls for an independent human rights impact assessment of the effect of intellectual property rules in the US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on access to medicines and the enjoyment of human rights in Morocco.
US-Peru free trade deal a step back for development
20-Apr-2006 Oxfam America
International aid organization Oxfam criticized today’s signing of the US-Peru Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Washington, an agreement it says would do more harm than good for millions of Peruvians who live in poverty.
US pushes to limit generic drug rights
18-Apr-2006
Under global trading rules, the inventors of medicines ordinarily enjoy the right to a 20-year monopoly on their inventions. But five years ago, the United States joined 141 other countries to sign the Doha Declaration, confirming the right of poor countries to break drug patents and produce cheap generic drugs in the event of contagions like HIV.
US biotech deal blazes Aussie trail
12-Apr-2006
At just $4million, it’s hardly the biggest biotech deal ever struck by an Australian company, but it’s an important first.
The US-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA): The intellectual property provisions
26-Mar-2006 USTR
Report of the US government’s Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (ITAC-15)
FTA Watch statement: In support of Korean people’s struggle against the Korea-US FTA
24-Mar-2006
Although Thailand and South Korea are different in terms of development, people in both countries share a common demand for the protection of their right to affordable medicines and treatment.
Rural Pharmacists call to oust Thaksin
6-Mar-2006
The Rural Pharmacists Club issued a statement on Sunday calling for caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to resign and said the prime minister should face an investigation by independent committee over his alleged attempts to amend law to allow foreign companies to take over the country’s vital state enterprises.
South African Custom Union planning for FTA with India
5-Mar-2006 PTI
The South African Customs Union is in talks with the Indian government for signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to enhance the trade and business between both the countries.
Appeal for Malaysians to have access to affordable medicines
5-Mar-2006
Open letter to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Tripping up TRIPs debates
24-Feb-2006 Tripping up TRIPs debates
Access to medicine is at the forefront of multilateral debates surrounding the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). This paper argues that bilateralism allows the United States to circumvent these debates and to set standards that serve and protect the pharmaceutical industry.
US-Thailand: Talks could slow over plant and drug issues
19-Feb-2006 Bangkok Post
Differences over pharmaceuticals could be overcome, but the countries are far from reaching a common understanding on biodiversity issues.
‘Secret’ FTA details on the Net
8-Feb-2006
Details of US proposals in free-trade talks with Thailand - perceived by many Thais as “forbidden information” the government has tried to cover up - were recently posted for all to see in cyberspace. Witoon Leanchamroon, director of BioThai, a non-government organisation working for bio-diversity and community rights, said at a press conference yesterday he had been told a group of Americans involved in public health issues had posted a full text of the patent chapter from the Thai-US free trade talks at www.bilaterals.org.
EDITORIAL: Health at stake in free-trade talks
8-Feb-2006 The Nation
For the United States, intellectual property rights represent the single most valuable asset in light of the new reality of information-based economies and where they derive their national wealth. The supremacy of the US as a global power depends on how effective it is in acquiring and maintaining its ownership of knowledge assets.