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Welfare Effect of Market Exclusivity Extension forPatented Medicines in Thailand: Analysis of the Effect ofTRIPS-Plus Provisions |
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| รหัสดีโอไอ | |
| Creator | Theerathorn Yoongthong |
| Title | Welfare Effect of Market Exclusivity Extension forPatented Medicines in Thailand: Analysis of the Effect ofTRIPS-Plus Provisions |
| Publisher | The Thai Association of the Population and Social Researchers |
| Publication Year | 2558 |
| Journal Title | Journal of Population and Social Studies |
| Journal Vol. | 23 |
| Journal No. | 2 |
| Page no. | 193-213 |
| Keyword | Welfare Effect of Market Exclusivity Extension forPatented Medicines in Thailand: Analysis of the Effect of TRIPS-Plus Provisions |
| ISSN | 0857-717X |
| Abstract | Under the free trade agreement negotiations with the United States and the European Union,Thailand, along with several developing countries, is required to enforce TRIPS-Plus provisions. Mostdeveloping countries claim that stringent intellectual property protection for pharmaceuticals wouldresult in considerably higher prices for medicines, with adverse consequences for the health and wellbeingof their citizens. This paper empirically assesses the basis of these claims. Using a detailedproduct-level data set from Thailand, we estimate demand-side parameters together with key price andexpenditure elasticities for a set of three main categories of antihypertensive drugs. We then use theseestimates to carry out counterfactual simulations of what consumer welfare would have been, hadThailand enforced TRIPS-Plus. According to our estimation, the enforcement of TRIPS-Plus wouldresult in a substantial accumulated consumer welfare loss to the Thai economy, ranging between 30billion baht and 136 billion baht, within a 10-year period from 2012 to 2021. The magnitude ofconsumer welfare loss suggests that without clear and inclusive evidence regarding the merits ofTRIPS-Plus in every aspect, Thailand should not accept any further intellectual property protectionbeyond the TRIPS mandates. |