Accession to the CPTPP
On the 16th July 2023 the UK officially signed into the treaty confirming the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). This membership is essentially a trade deal including 12 economies across Asia, the pacific, and now the UK has joined, Europe. This includes countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Japan. Membership into the trade group is expected to bring further investment into the UK from the CPTPP countries, while allowing the UK to connect and develop trade relationships with these countries and bring about zero tariffs in many cases.
What does this mean for the pharmaceutical industry?
Initially there were concerns within the pharmaceutical industry, specifically within the generics market, that joining the CPTPP could have a detrimental impact on the cost of medicines to the NHS. This was due to differences within the legal processes for notification when a generic or biosimilar intends to launch a product after patent expiry of the originator product. This would have delayed generic and biosimilars getting to market resulting in the NHS spending millions of pounds more a year than it needed to. However, after negotiations, members of the CPTPP accepted the UK’s existing framework as satisfactory ensuring the generics market and ultimately the NHS will not be affected.
What advantages will the CPTPP bring?
The UK is the first European country to join the group and being part of it will mean that more than 99% of UK goods exported to CPTTP countries will be eligible for zero tariffs, including many pharmaceuticals. As the deal also affects imported goods, lower tariffs will reduce the cost of raw materials. This new membership will allow greater collaboration within the sector facilitating information exchange between members whilst opening opportunities for new investments into the UK.
The full government press release can be found here and we will be keeping an eye out for any new updates this agreement brings.
If you would like to talk to Fusion Pharma about the points raised in this blog, please email us at hello@fusion-pharma-limited.com or phone us on +44 (0) 203 1379 799.
While the information in this article is considered to be true and correct at the date of publication, changes in guidance and/or experience may impact on the accuracy of the information. Please refer to the relevant guidance for the latest information.
