hankyoreh

South Korea and the United States will hold a meeting on November 13 in Seoul to discuss ways to open the pharmaceutical sector of each country, as part of ongoing negotiations on a proposed free trade agreement (FTA). The two held a similar meeting on the side of the main FTA talks in Singapore last August; the subject at that meeting was also pharmaceuticals.

"The meeting is being held at the request of the U.S. side," said a South Korean official at the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The U.S. is expected to offer a series of demands and concessions regarding South Korea’s drug pricing system, the official said. The system set to be in effect in South Korea by the end of this year, the so-called "positive list" system, favors insurance coverage for low-cost, generic drugs.

The official added, however, that Washington has accepted Seoul’s overall position on drug pricing, and will come to an official agreement within this year. The U.S. had so far called for extending the expiration date for patents on new drugs, which would grant higher profit yields to large pharmaceutical companies, while pushing to establish an independent body that could raise individual issues regarding South Korea’s drug pricing system. These demands were rejected by Seoul. [englishhani@hani.co.kr]