Concern over TPP Pharmac threat

Professor Jane Kelsey of the University of Auckland said Pharmac was the "most exposed" of any programme in a TPPA country. Photo / Mark Mitchell

New Zealanders' access to safe and affordable medicines could be limited under a massive trade deal being secretly negotiated, opposition parties say.

Critics of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement argue a new post on Wikileaks reveals threats to Pharmac from the United States and pharmaceutical companies.

The TPP involves 12 countries including the United States and Australia, and would be the biggest trade agreement ever signed.

Wikileaks, the whistleblower group, has published on its website what it says is the leaked healthcare annex to the secret draft "transparency" chapter of the deal.

Green Party co-leader James Shaw said the leaked documents outline principles and procedures by which agencies like Pharmac must operate.

That would challenge Pharmac's decision-making process, he said.

"The way Pharmac operates with its buying power assists New Zealanders get affordable access to medicines.

"The Government should not sign a trade deal that pushes up the price of medicine for New Zealanders in order to give new rights to US pharmaceutical companies."

Labour's Acting Health spokesman David Clark said Pharmac was a "bright light" in the health sector, that saved Kiwis millions of dollars by negotiating cheaper medicines.

"Now John Key is looking to take more money out of the health budget to pay for multi-national corporate welfare."

NZ First trade spokesman Fletcher Tabuteau said the Government needed to provide reassurance that New Zealanders would not be "clobbered" by big drug manufacturers.

Pharmac is a Crown agency that works with District Health Boards to decide which medicines and related products are subsidised for the public.

A spokesman for Trade Minister Tim Groser said the Government does not comment on rumours of purported leaked texts in TPP.

However, Mr Groser has in the past said that negotiators were working to get the best deal for Kiwis, and that it would not negotiate on the fundamentals of the public health system.

Dr Graeme Jarvis, general manager of Medicines New Zealand, which represents companies involved with the development, production and prescription of medicines and vaccines, said changes suggested by the Wikileak would be positive.

"We are not seeking an end to Pharmac, but what we have said is there is significant room for improvement, in the transparency of Pharmac's decision-making process and the timeliness of the funding decisions.

"And it seems to me that what has been proposed in this Wikileak is along that similar line."

Dr Jarvis said proposed changes to Pharmac would probably not undermine the agency's effectiveness. Irrespective of the TPP outcomes, he said currently New Zealanders were having to wait for up to eight years to get some cost-effective medicines from Pharmac.

However, Professor Jane Kelsey of the University of Auckland said the documents showed that Pharmac was the "most exposed" of any programme in a TPP country.

Ms Kelsey said there were numerous ways the US and overseas pharmaceutical companies could undermine Pharmac's effectiveness as a result, including restricting cheaper generic medicines.

The US could potentially refuse to bring the TPP into force in New Zealand until Pharmac's regulations were changed to match the Annex, she said.