The 18^th round of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement negotiations is taking place this week in Manila, Philippines. Health activists warn that Japan and South Korea are pushing for measures that go beyond international trade rules on intellectual property, including extending patent terms and data exclusivity in countries such as India, a primary source of cheaper generic medicines.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF – Doctors Without Borders) in its response is urging Japan and South Korea to withdraw their proposals as it considers them as being harmful. The proposed measures would lead to a delay in generic competition and strongly increase the prices of medicines for patients all over the world, MSF said.

At issue are proposed measures to update the 1994 World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). So-called TRIPS-plus measures being put forward include the extension of the drug companies’ patent terms and the establishment of new monopolies in the national drug regulatory system (data exclusivity).

The proposed investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provision could possibly hinder the capacity of governments to implement and execute policies to protect and ensure universal health care, and would increase the risk of governments to be sued by pharmaceutical companies for millions of dollars, the group said.

In addition, the draft ‘IP Enforcement’ text of RCEP does not contain adequate safeguard measures against possible abuse, according to MSF. The draft text neither guarantees the flow of generic medicines from producers to patients. MSF has asked the negotiators to consider the deletion of patents and test data from the enforcement section.

The RCEP includes the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and six other countries – India, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.