Australia sees way to resolve TPP drug dispute with United States

SYDNEY, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Australia sees a way forward to
resolve a dispute with the United States over next-generation
medicines that is stalling Pacific trade talks but "splitting it
down the middle" on patent protections will not be the answer,
Australia's trade minister said on Sunday.
Negotiators in Atlanta, Georgia worked through the night
trying to broker a deal on the 12-nation Trans-Pacific
Partnership, which will create a free trade zone covering 40
percent of the world economy. ID:nL1N1230H3
But a push by the United States to set a longer period of
exclusivity for drug makers who develop biological drugs has run
into opposition from countries including Australia and Japan and
is holding up a broader deal.
Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb told the Australian
Broadcasting Corp the dispute could make or break the agreement
but believed a deal could still be reached.
"It has got the potential to disrupt. We have found a bit of
an impasse for several days ... But I think we are starting to
find a way forward, so I'm always the optimist."
The United States allows pharmaceutical companies an
exclusive period of 12 years to use clinical data behind the
approval for a new biological drug.
The Obama administration had previously proposed lowering
that threshold to seven years but has pushed a proposal for an
eight-year minimum at the TPP talks in Atlanta.
Australia, along with others such as New Zealand and Chile,
have been unwilling to offer more than five years protection for
the medicines, since longer terms will push up the cost of
state-subsidized medical programs.
"You know, just splitting it down the middle is not the
answer, and we've had to try to work through that," Robb told
the ABC. "If we don't, it will have a major impact on whether we
conclude or not."