KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — An update to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) chapter on intellectual property leaked on the Internet today showed changes that will fuel fears that the wide-ranging trade agreement will cause the price of medicines to shoot up.

In a purported leak made available on the WikiLeaks whistleblower website, the updated chapter included two amendments that support critics’ argument that the trade deal will restrict consumers’ access to generic medicines.

One such proposal was an article proposed by the US — the main driver of the controversial deal — that will force signatory nations to observe an “automatic monopoly period” of up to 12 years for patented life-saving drugs.

These include, but are not limited to, medicines that treat diseases such as cancer and HIV.

The clause will prevent generic versions of the drugs from entering the market during the period of exclusivity, forcing patients to rely on the brand-name versions, which are usually sold at a much higher cost.

Another proposed change is the removal of a three-step assessment procedure that would theoretically allow member nations to allow cost-cutting generic drugs to compete along brand-name medicines that they license.

This vital tool to give exemptions to cheaper alternatives has been superseded by a subjective evaluation to determine if allowing exceptions to generics would  “prejudice” patent holders’ rights.

“This will mean that the procedure is more restrictive and open to interpretation, and therefore lobbying and manipulation,” the whistleblower organisation said in a statement accompanying the release.

“In short, the TPP will greatly reduce the ability for creating more affordable drugs to save more lives, and increase the pharmaceutical industry’s ability to retain monopolies.”

The IP chapter of the TPPA was previously leaked by WikiLeaks in November last year, prompting critics to believe their fears of the trade deal’s effects on consumers and sovereign rights were justified.

The TPPA is a free trade agreement that has been negotiated by the US, Malaysia and nine other nations as part of the larger Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership since 2010.