Ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will attract a large number of foreign drug companies in the coming years to Vietnam. It is anticipated to bring investment to Vietnam's pharmaceutical industries, lead to increased infrastructure and enable the use of more sophisticated technologies for the discovery, development and manufacture of drugs. However, with respect to pharmaceutical companies, which are producing generic drugs primarily, the availability of biologic will be reduced. Thus, the consequence is, an increase in drug cost resulting in difficulties for patients wishing to procure these drugs. This will be particularly detrimental for developing countries, such as Vietnam and Malaysia.
Keywords: TPP; TRIPS; brand name; data exclusivity; drugs; generic; industry; market; patent; pharmaceuticals.