Pharmac and the TPP Negotiations: Navigating the Maze of Intellectual Property, Competition and Access to Medicine in New Zealand

Abstract

This paper discusses the regulation of pharmaceuticals in New Zealand and asks whether it is effective in promoting innovation and access to medicines in New Zealand. New Zealand abandoned its liberal compulsory licensing and parallel importation provisions in the early 1990s under trade pressure from the United States, and turned to price regulation to control pharmaceutical prices. This has proven effective at containing prices but created some problems for access to medicines. The paper looks to New Zealand's international obligations. It is found that New Zealand's practices and policies are compliant with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS), and that there is scope to make fuller use of the flexibilities in the agreement for the promotion of access to medicine. The paper argues that New Zealand must resist changes along the lines of those seen in the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement, which would result in levels of intellectual property protection that could seriously jeopardize the operation of Pharmac and the affordable access to medicine in New Zealand.