Revised NAFTA deal includes 10-year biologics protection

A revamped North American Free Trade Agreement preliminarily agreed upon by the U.S. and Mexico includes a provision that would provide 10 years of market exclusivity for biologics -- several years more than the five-to-eight years of protection negotiated by the Obama administration in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade treaty.

The Association for Accessible Medicines, the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association and the Mexican Association of Generic Medicines said in a joint statement on Tuesday that the data protection provision would harm the biosimilars industry and reduce the affordability of healthcare...