Canada-Europe Free Trade Deal Gives Brand Name Pharmaceutical
Companies a Shot in the Arm
Canada and Europe announced an agreement in principle on a
Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement
("CETA") that will potentially increase
Canadian drug patent terms by up to 2 years.
CETA was the product of several years of negotiations. It is a
wide-ranging trade agreement covering diverse topics such as
foreign ownership and investments, access to public procurement
contracts, automobiles, food (eg. beef and dairy products) and
agriculture. Pharmaceuticals were also a prominent part of the
discussion. The agreement was negotiated in secret. Europe was
reportedly pressuring Canada to strengthen exclusivities for brand
name drugs. Leaked drafts of the agreement showed that the main
pharmaceutical intellectual property issues on the table were: i)
providing patent term extension, ii) longer period of data
exclusivity protection for brand name drugs to keep generics off
the
