The countries of United States, Japan, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam are gathering together to create a so called free trade agreement between them. Big Pharma has flexed its dick once again, by trying to limit the trade of cheaper generic drugs. If this agreement goes into affect the way it has been drafted up, stronger patent protections for brand-name medicines in the participating countries would take place. Not only the countries that are participating would be affected, the other countries around the world that receive generic medications from these countries would be forced to buy name brand meds. With a monopoly, and making the drugs unaffordable for most people in poor regions, many with life long diseases will suffer at the expense of large pharmaceutical companies that lobby to these governments. People in Australia, that imports a lot of their drugs, will be paying higher amounts for them. I don't like where this is heading.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/index/pages/20131115-generic-drugs-seen-lim...

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/australians-may-pa...