26 April 2016 - Trade Minister Todd McClay says he sees no reason why big pharmaceutical firms would stop supplying new medicines in New Zealand as they have always done, despite threats from lobby group Medicines New Zealand over the government's stance on intellectual property protections under the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

Medicines New Zealand chair Heather Roy, a former consumer affairs minister, has indicated drug companies may not bother to register drugs here unless the government makes more concessions on the TPP.

The threat comes ahead of a one-man delegation from the US Trade Representatives' Office arriving in New Zealand reportedly to talk about implementation of the agreement which requires the US to sign to go ahead.

Some drug companies were already not making products available in New Zealand if they didn't get Pharmac funding because the private market was so small, though Roy couldn't say how many had done so.

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