For Roberto Abdenur, the problem has universal proportions and is a risk to public health

On September 10, the Brazil-United States Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) held an important meeting to discuss drug piracy in Brazil. ETCO's Executive President, Roberto Abdenur, was one of the moderators of the event, which showed that the fight against the trade in counterfeit or adulterated medicines has to be strengthened with the integrated performance of the authorities, the use of technology and awareness of the population.

ETCO is part of Amcham's anti-drug piracy group, which shows the long-standing partnership between the two entities.

“Health piracy is a problem of universal proportions. ETCO operates in sectors where there is a risk of destabilizing the economic balance, but this is a social problem, which concerns public health ”, said Abdenur.

The medication tracking project, which will help combat cargo theft and will allow identifying who manufactured the product, who sold it, who dispatched it and when it arrived at the distributor and pharmacies, is an initiative supported by ETCO. The National Medicines Control System, determined by Law 11.903 / 09, passed a public hearing in May.

Entities in the medications sector should be invited to new talks to align proposals. The ideas will be analyzed with the perspective that traceability will achieve the objective of providing more security to the population. After the closing of the final text, it will be discussed in a public meeting of the directors of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa).

In addition to medication tracking, Abdenur spoke about the medication exemption project. “The average level of medication taxation in Brazil is 34%, while the world average is 6%. In some countries there is no taxation, ”said the ETCO Executive President.

Global pharmaceutical laboratory manager Eli Lilly, Grant Lindman, spoke about drug trafficking in several countries around the world. "First of all, we need to share the information," he said, citing education, regulation, capacity building and international cooperation as fundamental factors in combating this illegal trade. “Drug trafficking is just as serious as drug trafficking. It is a big challenge, but if we work together, we can have good results. ”

The director of the legal group of the Brazilian Association of the High-Tech Industry of Medical-Hospital Equipment, Products and Supplies (Abimed), Mariângela Vassalo, explained that the major problem of drug piracy is that, unlike some other products, this can pose a serious risk to the health of the population. “We have to work on the exchange of information so that we can identify and prevent cases of piracy in this area. When we talk about combat it is because something has already happened, and something must be done to anticipate this problem. ”

In the next panel, the president of the National Forum Against Piracy and Illegality (FNCP), Edson Vismona, highlighted the importance of a constant process of integration of the public power. “Today, each sphere has its competence, and working to add them takes away the space for organized crime,” he argued.

Data from the Federal Highway Police indicate that, between 2010 and 2013, 20,9 million units of counterfeit and adulterated drugs were seized. Manuel Hermeto Vasconcelos Junior, inspector of the PRF, said that the integration of forces between the highway, civil and Federal Revenue Police for the seizure of pirated goods is very effective at the borders. "At the regional level, it is interesting that there is a division of functions between each body, so that everyone knows where each team is working and combines intelligence actions", he added.