Brazil Initiates to Improve Production of Key Medications

Brazil announced a new initiative to boost domestic production of common medicines and equipments.

Health Minister Alexandre Padilha said the plans call for major government investments in the field, public-private partnerships to produce drugs, and fast-tracking patents and registration of products crucial to public health.

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He estimated that the measures would lead to savings of 354 million reais ($179 million) over five years, because the government currently imports most of the medicines involved and makes them available to the national health system.

"To produce here in Brazil means a saving for the government and the consumer," the Padilha said. "These products can lead to price reductions for the consumer."

He made the announcement at a meeting hosted by the Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paolo.

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He said the government would extend seven billion reais ($3.5 billion) in credits to Brazilian firms involved in innovative health projects and pump another 1.3 billion reais ($651 million) into the infrastructure of public laboratories.

He said key regulatory bodies -- the National Health Surveillance Agency ANVISA, the National Institute of Intellectual Property (INPI) and the Brazilian Association of Technical Norms (ABNT) -- would sign agreements aimed at speeding up the process for obtaining patents and registering products.

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