Consumer and farmer advocacy groups have urged the government not to enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, saying Thailand is unprepared to handle the negative impact.
Nusaraporn Kessomboon, a lecturer in Khon Kaen University's Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, raised concerns that the TPP would obstruct Thai people's access to affordable drugs.
The most worrying issue of the agreement is the inclusion of Data Exclusivity (DE) -- the protection of clinical test data required to be submitted to a regulatory agency to prove the safety and efficacy of a new drug, and the prevention of generic drug makers from relying on this data in their own applications.
Furthermore, as long as DE is valid, drug companies can own the rights to medicine even if the patent has expired.
Current Thai laws let drug companies hold a patent for a maximum of 20 years, starting on the date that the company submits the patent requirements to the Intellectual Property Department.
If a company wants to sell products in Thailand, it must register separately with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Ms Nusaraporn said the TPP lets a company acquire DE protection through the registration process with the FDA. At least eight years of DE will be given for biological drugs, such as vaccines and some cancer treatments, and five years for general drugs.
Further DE may be granted if a company registers products with the FDA before their patents expire.
During this extended period, biosimilar drugs (biological medicine that is similar to another biological medicine that has already been approved) and generic drugs cannot be registered, Ms Nusaraporn said.
That means Thailand cannot issue a compulsory licence -- an authorisation exercised by the government without the permission of the patent holder -- to import affordable generic drugs.
"We can strengthen our capacity to produce drugs in the future. DE will cut our opportunities," she said. "We're not ready to be a part of the TPP now."
She said Thailand, as a new member of the TPP, would have less negotiating leverage because the deal's text and conditions have already been agreed by all existing member countries.
Before Thailand joins the TPP, she would like the authorities and the national drug industry to be able to cope with and benefit from the agreement conditions.
Witoon Lienchamroon, the director of BioThai, a non-profit group that works to protect farmers' rights and biodiversity, had concerns about the extension of patents on plants and plant-related inventions.
According to Thai law, such patents have a validity of 12 years.
The TPP extends those patents to 20 years in accordance with the 1991 version of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, one of the treaties that TPP countries are required to join.
"This will certainly affect Thai farmers," Mr Witoon said.
A BioThai study found that the price of seeds would increase two to six times under the TPP, which gives private companies the rights to plant-related products for many more years.
Farmers can turn unwitting criminals if they plant seeds collected from mature plants and the seeds are under patent.
Mr Witoon said the TPP also opens a channel for foreign private companies to register trademarks for protected geographical indications, which closely link agricultural products and foodstuffs with a specific geographical area.
For example, Hom Mali fragrant rice could be registered by a foreign company and local farmers would have no chance to develop their own products.
The TPP would also force Thailand to accept genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The agreement only lets a member country reject GMOs if there is scientific evidence of an impact in the country, Mr Witoon says, even though GMO effects take time to manifest.
Thailand has legalised a few imported GMOs such as corn and soy. Labelling is required on all products. Commercial farming of GMOs is not permitted in the country.
Jiraporn Limpananon, president of the Independent Organisation for Consumer Protection, said the government seemed to be in a rush to enter trade agreements just to get tax deductions and tariff preferences from foreign countries.
But the impact of joining a trade agreement can be hugely negative, she warned.
"Every trade agreement proves that GDP will increase," Ms Jiraporn said. "But the benefits clump [in specific sectors or groups of people] while development of the nation does not go forward. The impacts of accepting agreements are huge.
"Instead of accepting opportunity loss, Thailand should support innovation-based products while upgrading its potential to produce its own commodities."
She is concerned the Thai government may want to enter the TPP just to gain acceptance from the international community despite the TPP's conditions being tougher than those of most other trade agreements.