Author: Marcelo Liebhardt, director of Interfarma

Source: Portal Fator Brasil - 11/06/2010

The II National Forum on Drug Traceability: Prevention and Combating Counterfeiting and Smuggling in Brazil, received, on June 10 (Thursday), in the Federal Senate, representatives of the legislative, executive, judiciary, regulatory agencies, pharmaceutical industries, who discussed the fight against illegality in the sale of medicines

The auditorium Senador Antonio Carlos Magalhães, located at Interlegis, Federal Senate, was busy this Thursday morning, June 10th. The venue was the stage for the II National Forum on Drug Traceability: Prevention and Combating Counterfeiting and Smuggling in Brazil. Senator of the Republic, Romeu Tuma; federal deputy, Vanessa Grazziotin; the deputy director of ANVISA, Pedro Ivo Sebba; the director of Interfarma, Marcelo Liebhardt; the president of ETCO (Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition), André Franco Montoro; and the executive secretary of the National Council for Combating Piracy and Intellectual Property Offenses, Ana Lúcia Moraes Gomes, participated in the forum.

Romeu Tuma was one of the most anticipated authorities at the event. The senator focused his explanation on the high risk of consuming counterfeit drugs. “We have to draw attention to the risk. It is important to make the population aware that the purchase of medicines in irregular establishments implies risks that can even lead to death. Many people do not know that the medications have security elements, including the scratch card, the expiration date, etc. ”, he warned.

Tuma cited the negative reaction of many entities and companies towards ANVISA's inspection and highlighted the institution's performance as a starting point for the tracking of medicines. The senator placed the crime of counterfeiting medicines as a public health issue and pledged to fight for the strengthening of the CPI of medicines, so that it acquires an international scope. At the end of his speech, the congressman emphasized the fight against crime and pledged to talk to the ANVISA board, aiming to protect the most important figure in this debate: the consumer.

"In addition to development and research, the industry has a duty to bring wealth to the country," said Vanessa Grazziotin. The federal deputy, elected by the PC do B do Amazonas and author of bill 11.903, cited her state as internationally famous for the variety of natural wealth and emphasized that Brazil still cannot transform it into wealth. "We buy patented products made with our own raw materials," warned Grazziotin.

For the deputy, if the piracy of conventional products is regrettable, the counterfeiting of drugs is dramatic and has irreversible effects. "There are cases of people who went blind using fake eye drops," he lamented. "The generation of jobs is suppressed and in public health there are irreversible consequences and, life suppression, in the worst case," he added. The parliamentarian ended her participation in the event, congratulating the Institute of Responsible Action for the initiative: “these are events like this that help to transform debates into law”.

Interfarma's director, Marcelo Liebthardt, had a decisive participation in the forum. The representative of the pharmaceutical industries presented the pharmaceutical market in numbers to the participants, showed the growth of the industry in the country and highlighted the great need for a traceability program as a counterfeit control. He also cited counterfeiting and informality as paths that intersect with information. "The counterfeit medicine has to enter the formal chain to be marketed" Marcelo Liebthardt recalled the free markets - in Africa and also in northeastern Brazil, recently aired on TV programs, in which medicines were sold freely. "The least favored populations are always the most affected," he said.

ANVISA representative, Pedro Ivo Sebba presented a history of the entity, regarding the control of medicines and explained how the regulation and control of medicines will be with the screening. André Franco Montoro Filho, the president of ETCO (Brazilian Institute of Competition Ethics), talked about the electronic tracking system and the authenticity of medication and stressed the need to promote competitive ethics to improve the business environment.

Ana Lúcia de Moraes Gomes (executive secretary of the National Council for Combating Piracy and Offenses against Intellectual Property) focused her lecture on the importance of combating piracy at the borders. She cited repressive, educational and economic actions and highlighted educational action as a tool to combat the falsification of medicines. “In the past, people forged only CDs and DVS. Today they counterfeit the phone, car, potato chips, and even medicines ”. Ana Lúcia also spoke about the strategic plan to combat piracy, which includes 23 projects. She closed her presentation praising the work performed in Brazil: "the social reality of Brazil is extremely difficult and our country is an example of combating piracy". At the end of the event, Ana undertook to address some doubts raised by the public and still without an answer to the Ministry of Justice.

II National Forum on Drug Traceability: Preventing and Combating Counterfeiting and Smuggling in Brazil, on June 10, 2010 (Thursday), from 9 am to 13 pm, in the Federal Senate, at the Senador Antonio Carlos Magalhães auditorium at Interlegis. Realization: Brazilian Institute for Responsible Action. Partner institutions: National Congress; United Nations Development Program (UNDP); Integral Brazil and Interlegis. Sponsorship: MSD, Cristália, Sanofi Aventis.