Disclosure: Anvisa.
Mercosur countries can now do combined purchase of strategic medicine after agreement signed by Health Ministers at the 11th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) in Uruguay. The agreement, signed this Friday (11th), also provides for the creation of a Bank of Prices of Medicines for countries to have greater bargaining power.
The measure aims to cheapen the cost of products for scale purchase. According to the Ministry of Health, the values charged by pharmaceutical industry vary up to 5 times depending on the volume of acquisition of the country. The first purchase by the agreement, scheduled for October, will be in a group of drugs for the treatment of hepatitis C and aids.
Each country has chosen its priority medicines for purchase and, with the agreement, defined jointly the medicines that will be acquired in two block purchases already foreseen. Besides Brazil, there are Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador and Suriname as members of the agreement.
The bank of prices of Mercosur will gather details on purchases of medicines and equipment made by the Ministries of Health of South America. The information system will have data such as prices of recent purchases, quantity, suppliers, among others. The bank of prices of the Brazilian Government will serve as a model for regional database. The idea is that when countries are making arrangements with the industry, they will have on hand the values traded with other countries.
Source: Agência Brasil
