Once a drug has been developed, one of the main determinants of access is affordability, such as the final price paid by the consumer. Producer prices are an important factor in determining this final price and competition between different manufacturers has had a positive impact on affordability and access to medicines. New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Comprehensive and progressive agreement for the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements-concluded-but-not-in-force/cptpp/comprehensive-and-progressive-agreement-for-trans-pacific-partnership-text/. (i) Developing countries had until 1 January 2000 to implement the provisions of the ON TRIPS agreement, including process and product patent protection obligations. With regard to pharmaceutical patents, developing countries that did not grant such protection on 1 January 2000 had an additional period of time until 1 January 2005 to introduce them. Since most WTO members in developing countries were already planning for the protection of pharmaceutical drugs, a relatively small number of countries were affected (2); The TPP, CPTPP and USMCA eliminate drug tariffs for certain countries and/or drugs. For example, Vietnam has agreed to abolish drug tariffs for CPTPP members over a 10-year period [51] and Mexico`s customs plan for the USMCA will eliminate tariffs on certain drugs, including tariffs on the basis of rituximab and erythropoietin-containing drugs [52]. One final point: the provisions we are debating can affect countries` ability to achieve SDGs 3.8 through other means, in addition to the four main pharmaceutical objectives.
To the extent that, for example, one of these provisions increases public costs with little or no improved therapeutic benefits, they become opportunity costs for achieving SDG 3.8. Many of these provisions carry a significant administrative burden on compliance with BMI rules, which have implications for human resources and infrastructure. Walls and colleagues point out that “if states do not find ways to increase their administrative regulatory capacity in terms of the negotiation, implementation and day-to-day management of ATPs [preferential trade agreements], these EPZs could lead to increased health inequalities [66].