Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will firmly reject the proposal on intellectual property rights in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) involving drugs.
International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the matter was worrying to Malaysians as it would involved price hikes of drugs in the market.
"In this case, the main issue is to call for the 20-year patent period to be extended.
"When that occurs, it will delay the introduction of the generic drug and, thus, will increase the price of drugs.
"For Malaysia it is a vital issue and will stand firm on the matter," he told Bernama.
He said several countries also rejected the proposal.
"So this public concern should not be prolonged as not all wanted to extend the patent period, there are several countries together with us, who strongly oppose such efforts," he said.
Drugs with expired patent period would be categorised as generic drug and could be produced by any companies, including local ones, offering much cheaper choices.
The TPPA negotiation involved Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States and Vietnam.
At the TPPA ministerial level meeting in Singapore last February, seven matters were fine-tuned, including intellectual property rights.
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