Trade Minister Andrew Robb has rebuffed concerns the cost of medicines will rise once a controversial Pacific trade deal is finalised.
Health researchers have warned the Trans-Pacific Partnership risks increasing the cost of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and taxpayer-subsidised prescriptions.
A study by La Trobe, NSW and Sydney universities - based on leaked negotiating texts - also found it could reduce the ability of government to regulate the sale of tobacco and alcohol.
Mr Robb rejected the fears as a scaremongering beat-up.
"The government will not support outcomes that would increase the prices of medicines for Australians or adversely affect our health system more generally - end of story," he said in a statement.
Nor will the government let its ability to regulate or legislate in the public interest be undermined.
Report author Deborah Gleeson said the absence of publicly-available drafts of the TPP made it difficult to assess its impact.
The only way to properly assess the risks was to allow a comprehensive health impact assessment to be conducted on the final agreement before it gets signed-off by cabinet, she said.
The TPP will cover almost 40 per cent of the world's economies, setting the trade rules between 12 countries, including Australia.
But the planned deal has been criticised for its secrecy.
The Labor opposition also called for more transparency on the trade agreement, saying it was time the government was up-front with the Australian public.
The Public Health Association said the TPP provisions would not just affect trade.
"They would affect the way the government regulates public health," the association's chief executive Michael Moore said.
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