A major AIDS research group says the TPP will make it harder to fight AIDS

While the Trans-Pacific Partnership is usually described as a trade agreement, it includes a number of provisions that have little to do with promoting international trade. One of the most important examples: provisions championed by big pharmaceutical companies that would delay the introduction of low-cost, generic versions of life-saving medicines. That could have significant and potentially dangerous ramifications for global public health.

A new report from the prominent AIDS research group amfAR argues that these changes would drive up the price of some drugs that are desperately needed in the developing world. The group says that would hamper the global fight against AIDS (and other diseases) in a way that would ultimately cost lives.

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The TPP is expected to expand what could be patented. It could require countries to offer patent protection for plants and animals, which had been specifically excluded from previous trade agreements.

It would also allow pharmaceutical companies to patent "new uses or methods of using a known product," which could allow drug companies to extend the effective term of patent protection by getting multiple patents on the same drug.

If generic manufacturers or public interest groups believe a patent goes too far, they can go to court to have it invalidated. But the TPP would tilt the playing field in favor of drug companies. A "presumption of validity" would require challengers to prove the patent is invalid, rather than asking drug companies to prove their patents are consistent with the law.

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http://www.vox.com/2015/5/11/8584025/tpp-amfar-aids-generics