Brazilians will have more options when purchasing medications

Generales

The proposal was put forward in a public statement by ANVISA, and would create medications equivalent to well-known branded products.

The Minister of Health, Alexandre Padilha, saw this as an important step for the policy of expanding the population’s access to quality medications. “We expect a beneficial impact, because whenever you expand competition, the consumer wins,” said Padilha.

The ANVISA public consultation proposes that similar medications be interchangeable with leading drugs. ‘Interchangeable’ means that leading brands can be replaced by other similar drugs that have similar results after testing and that are revised and approved by ANVISA. In addition, the measure does not require a change of prescription, as consumers with prescriptions will be able to choose between branded drugs or similar or generic ones.

According to the Director General of ANVISA, Dirceu Barbano, it is possible that equivalent medications will reach the market by the end of this year, as the majority of the industry has already undergone the testing required by ANVISA.

According to the proposal, similar medications must include the Equivalent Medication brand on their packaging, along with the symbols “EQ”. This mark will allow consumers and doctors to identify the products that have been proven to be equivalent and perform the same therapeutic function. The use of the symbol follows the example of generic medications, which must have a yellow strip on all products.

Currently, generic medications, which are interchangeable, are on the market at prices 35% less than branded products. According to the minister, the government will seek to apply the same regulations to equivalent medications.

Source: ANVISA

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