Life Sciences & Healthcare - updated on Apr 01 at 09h04 pm
ANNUAL DRUG PRICE ADJUSTMENT HAS BEEN SUSPENDED UNTIL THE END OF MAY
The publication of Provisional Measure No. 933/2020, on March 31, 2020, has led to the suspension of the annual drug price adjustment that would become enforceable on the same date.
In Brazil, drug prices are defined and annually adjusted by the Drug Market Regulation Chamber (CMED), which uses internationally accepted patterns to regulate the Brazilian drug market.
The adjustments normally come into force on March 31 of every year, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Provisional Measure No. 933/2020 has been published, suspending it for sixty days.
In this sense, only by the end of May, the drugs that are subject to adjustment will have their prices altered. The factors of the applicable formula have already been published by CMED.
Even with the postponement of the adjustment, the applicable factors have already been defined by CMED. However, there is a bill in the Senate that proposes the freezing of drug prices during the whole public calamity of COVID-19 (what can result in a longer term than sixty days).