The Ministry of Health, in partnership with the pharmaceutical company Sandoz and other companies in the sector, will begin full-scale production of drugs for the treatment of rare diseases in Brazil. The process will include the development of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), with a focus on supplying the domestic market.
Seven drugs were selected through Productive Development Partnerships (PDPs), which involve technology transfer to public institutions such as Fiocruz and the Butantan Institute. These partnerships are expected to generate approximately R$ 2 billion per year within the Unified Health System (SUS). Among the diseases covered are multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
Announced on May 29, these initiatives are part of a broader package of investments in innovation, which also includes the development of messenger RNA-based vaccines. In addition, the Brazilian Industrial Research and Innovation Company (Embrapii) will receive R$ 60 million to create centers of excellence in scientific research.
According to Fernanda De Negri, Secretary of Science, Technology, and Innovation and the Economic-Industrial Health Complex (SECTICS), the initiatives aim to expand the population's access to treatment and reduce acquisition costs for the government. "The partnerships have a term of ten years. During this period, we expect the drug to be between 5% and 10% cheaper than what we pay today and that, over time, there will be an even greater decline," she says.
Today, Brazil has around 13 million people living with rare diseases, which encompass more than 6,000 different types of illnesses—most of which are genetic in origin. Some are better known, such as hemophilia, which affects around 13,000 Brazilians. A condition is considered rare when it affects up to 65 people per 100,000 inhabitants.
Source: Valor Econômico