ETCO supports drug tracking system

By ETCO
08/02/2012

Source: Maxpress, 12/05/2008

The high degree of informality that exists in the drug sector harms public health and does significant damage to the development of the economy

A consensus is forming in Brazil and in the world on the need to track various products. But there is a sector in which the need to certify the origin and authenticity of its products is presented as fundamental and a priority: that of medicines.

On April 30, the Brazilian Institute of Ethical Competition (Etco), which brings together an important portion of the pharmaceutical industry, presented Dirceu Raposo de Mello, from the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), his suggestions on the system for tracking medicines, in view of the public consultation, which started on March 4. Over the past few months, Etco's sectorial medicine chamber, created in December 2005, has been working together with representatives of the sector to develop an architecture for a tracking and authenticity system that guarantees security for all links in the chain.

One of the great harms of informality present in the sector is the exposure of public health to risks. The use of inferior medicines and the administration of inadequate dosages deserve attention. "The dangers and losses resulting from drugs not manufactured according to the standards and procedures adopted by Organs controlling bodies are of incalculable dimensions", warns André Franco Montoro Filho, executive president of Etco. “Medicines manufactured without proper control, instead of curing, can even kill. Even if the extreme case does not occur, this type of medication can become ineffective, delaying and making treatment costs more expensive ”, he warns.

Informality, in addition to reducing the government's investment capacity, causes unfair competition between companies and hinders the growth of the sector. "The success of productive activities and economic growth depend on institutions, rules, uses and customs that provide adequate incentives, creating a good business environment", says Montoro Filho. "The support of the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition for the drug tracking system aims at the search for ethics, combating fraud, counterfeiting and evasion in the sector, uniting all links in the chain."

Sectorial Chamber of Medicines


The Etco sectorial medicine chamber brings together 34 laboratories, which together invoice R $ 18,1 billion (66,5% of the pharmaceutical market), according to data from July 2007, and employ 28 thousand direct workers and more than 100 thousand indirect workers.

A study on informality in the sector commissioned by McKinsey in 2005 showed that the level of informality in the medication sector is alarming. According to the survey, 23% of the taxes due are withheld, 40% of the labor force in the sector is informal and 27% of the sales of drugs in the therapeutic classes surveyed are made through the illegal exchange of products. Since then, Etco has analyzed solutions available on the market for the implementation of systems for authenticity and drug tracking, in addition to promoting research on instruments and mechanisms that can help to reduce unfair competition.


 
Source: TemCura (online)