Why it is worth keeping an eye on pharmaceuticals in NAFTA talks

Canada's trade negotiators reportedlypushed back on a single bullet point about the new trade deal between theU.S. and Mexico that a health policy expertsays could boost prescription drug costs for Canadian patients.

The U.S. trade representative's fact sheet on the new deal that was revealed Mondaysays it will "require at least 10 years of data protection for biologic drugs."

Currently in Canada, biologics are protected from competition fromfollow-onor generic-like products for eight years.

• Drug costs rising fast in Canadian health-care spending, report finds
• Prescription drug spending reaches $29.4B in Canada

Increasing the protectionto 10 years "is a big thing that will have an important impact on drug cost in Canada, especially in the context when we're discussing the implementation of a nationalpharmacaresystem in Canada," according to Marc-AndrGagnon, a pharmaceutical policy researcher at Carleton University in Ottawa who hasresearched data protection in trade agreements.

Biologics are drugs such as antibodies derived from living organisms. Remicade used to reduce inflammation in Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other illnesses is an example.

"Contrary to all other countries the most-sold drug in Canada is Remicade," said Gagnon.

"The third most-sold is Humira," another biologicused to treat forms of arthritis, Crohn's and ulcerative colitis.

In 2017, seven of the top 10 medicines contributing to growth in patented drug sales in Canada were biologics, according to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board's annual report released last week.

When U.S. President Donald Trump released hisblueprint to lower drug prices in May, he said "excessively high drug prices, foreign freeloading, and a system rigged to reward list price increases, are burdening the American people."

The U.S. previously pushed for stronger protections on biologics under the defunct Trans Pacific Partnership, such asmatching the 12 yearsof exclusivity for biologics that companies receive in the U.S.As the Cato Institute noted, intellectual property protection has powerful industries behind it and strong advocates in Congress.

• Brand name drug sales soar in Canada, while R&D sags

But Gagnon said under Trump, the U.S. government's proximity with Big Pharma has increased for instance, with the appointment of a former pharmaceutical executive as secretary of health without solving the problem of high drug costs in that country.

Increased intellectual property protection increases drug costs but not drug prices, he added.

Gagnon said Canadian negotiators should demand conditions such as greater R&D-to-sales investments by drug companies in Canada before considering greater intellectual property protections for pharmaceuticals.

The exact details of the U.S. and Mexico agreement are not publicly available.