By Ciro Mortella*

We cannot underestimate the influence of ideologies when we analyze historical gaps in the Brazilian healthcare system. Influenced by old fashioned and distorted ideas, voices not always relevant try to feed false and real divergence among laboratories and their diverse consumers.

Pressuring groups offer crucial issues to the national economy growth and the local productive chain which disturbs the articulation of an agenda that provides the consolidation of a modern pharmaceutical group in the country.

The pre-conditions to set up such group already exist. The private entities established the pharmaceutical industry in Brazil over the last decade by investing billion reals to modernize equipment, factories and staff training.

Recently, the sector started to invest big amounts to research and development (P&D) of new therapeutic substances (only this yea R$ 302 million will be invested). Besides, laboratories have acted aggressively to open new markets to export medicine.

Within the governmental department, the industrial policy launched in 2004 defined as a priority the incentive for medicine and pharmacological products production. The Brazilian Agency of Industrial Development stated the strategic importance of stimulating the technological innovation.

So, why doesn’t the process run? It does not run appropriately, among other reasons, due to some myths that keep on being inserted in some healthcare segments.

Such ideas, almost all old-fashioned, impregnate important discussions, which postpone important decision-takings.

The intellectual property matter is typical. Those who are in favor of medicine patent breaking, due to the patients’ rights, ignore the social function of this mechanism, which stands for attracting huge amounts of private investments necessary to the discovery and development of innovative substances.

Such model enables researches and the launch of products that wouldn’t be launched due to the notorious lack of resources in the public power in Brazil and in the world.

Other topic whose discussion is usually misled due to false premises is the role of the State and the private entities that must provide the access of the population to medicine.

In accordance with certain beliefs, only the public power would be committed to the manufacture of affordable medicine to people. Consequently, the application of public resources in the state production of medicine would be a crucial decision. One of the economy logic is the constant effort of the entrepreneurs to manufacture high quality and affordable products to conquer a higher number of consumers, which may increase the profitability of the companies.   

The laboratories installed in the country have conditions to manufacture high quality medicine at very low prices. That means the lowest-cost products as possible. The State must use their purchase power to get even lower prices which will create great benefits to the population.

Such perception, though, is darkened by ideologies about what is expensive or cheap – a relative concept that must be faced according to each consumer purchasing power in order to make sense.

It is a fact that in order to answer such populist arguments and static points of view, the pharmaceutical industry waste time and energy which change the focus of the discussion that really matters: how to create an efficient healthcare system and a wide and consistent pharmaceutical assistance in the country.

(*) Ciro Mortella is the executive president of the Brazilian Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry (Febrafarma).