Brazil is growing more dependent on imported medication

Brazil’s growing dependence on imported medication led the national pharmaceutical industry to forward a package of proposals to the pre-candidates for the presidency of the Republic to encourage the local production of drugs and raw materials. Entitled “Improving Health in Brazil – Industry Proposals” (free translation), the document provides alternatives for improving the sector’s rules and encouraging innovation and new investments.

“We won’t find the solution in restricting imports but in taking advantage of the production base installed in the country and concentrating value generation here,” defends Reginaldo Arcuri, executive president of Grupo FarmaBrasil, which represents the Brazilian pharmaceutical industries that signed the document.

According to a survey by the entity, from January to May, imported medication figures grew 35% compared to the averages of 2020 and 2021, reaching US$ 4.29 billion in absolute terms this year. Compared to previous years (2015 to 2019), the increase was an expressive 56%.

It is necessary to note that covid-19 raised the most recent numbers of foreign purchases. In the first two years of the pandemic, drug imports grew 15% compared to the average of the previous five years.

“Brazil can expedite the process of developing a world-class quality sector, though more coordination between the private sector and the government is required,” emphasizes the executive.

In his assessment, the figures make it clear that the growth trend is valid for foreign purchases of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), a known fact, and ready-made key drugs. Once a major producer of raw materials, Brazil now imports 95% of the API used in the national production of medicines.

The FarmaBrasil group survey shows that this year, the growth seen among drug imports was driven by the 41% increase in the purchase of biotechnological products compared to the average for the pandemic period and 110% compared to the average from 2015 to 2019.

In the case of pharma chemicals (IFAs), the growth in 2022 amounted to 23% compared to the pandemic period and 59% compared to the average seen in the previous five years.

According to the study, 54.8% of medicines imported by Brazil between January and May, came from five countries: Belgium (US$ 684 million), United States (US$ 528 million), Germany (US$ 479 million), Switzerland (US$348 million) and China (US$310 million).

At the moment, highlights Arcuri, the national pharmaceutical industry is poring over this data to assess which drugs can and should be produced locally and take these proposals to the government.

Source: Valor Econômico

To read the full original article, please go to: https://valor.globo.com/empresas/noticia/2022/07/18/brasil-eleva-dependencia-de-medicamentos-importados.ghtml

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