Inter Press Service: A Matter of Life and Death
Martin Khor, executive director of the South Centre

“If you or some family members or friends suffer from cancer, hepatitis, AIDS, asthma or other serious ailments, it’s worth your while to follow the negotiations on the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and other similar bilateral trade agreements. … Especially noteworthy is the U.S. insistence that the TPPA countries agree to give a type of intellectual property known as ‘data exclusivity’ for five years to companies producing original medicines. … That is the most significant aspect of the TPPA, and this is why so many groups of patients, health organizations and independent medical experts have been outraged and outspoken in their opposition to the agreement. … The views and positions that defend public health must prevail, for after all, it is a matter of life and death” (3/9).