UPDATE 1-Pacific trade negotiators working on medicines deadlock -sources

(Adds comment from United States)
ATLANTA, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Six Pacific trading partners are
resisting a U.S. push to set rules that would protect patented
next-generation medicines from competition from generic drugs
for eight years and are insisting on a shorter period of five
years as part of a sweeping trade pact, two sources close to the
negotiations said on Friday.
Ministers from the 12 countries negotiating the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) entered a third day of talks in
Atlanta still deadlocked over the treatment of biologic drugs,
next-generation drugs which are made from living cells and used
to treat cancer and other diseases.
A spokesman for the U.S. Trade Representative said the
United States had not made a formal proposal on biologics but
TPP partners "continued to work on creative solutions toward
agreement."
Monopoly periods for medicines are a sensitive political
issue for countries which face higher public health costs if
cheaper alternatives take longer to come to market.
Pharmaceutical companies argue that increased security for
their intellectual property will encourage investment.
Peru, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia and Brunei are
so far sticking to five-year protection periods for biologic
drugs, two sources briefed on the negotiations said.
The United States, which had originally pushed for 12 years,
and countries including Australia and Japan have suggested
possible compromises. Mexico was ready to be flexible depending
on the balance of the negotiations, one source said.
The sources could not be identified due to the sensitivity
of the discussions.
U.S. officials have declined to give details of the
discussions on pharmaceuticals, one of three key issues left to
resolve in talks on the TPP, which would cut trade barriers for
40 percent of the world economy.
"TPP partners are committed to finding a solution that
ensures life-saving medicines are more widely available, while
also creating incentives for the development of new treatments
and cures," a USTR spokesman said.