The objective of the tool is to make it easier for the Brazilian population to access the maximum prices of medicines authorized by Cmed
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Brazil
Medicines
10 hours ago
BY Folhapress
SÃO PAULO, SP (FOLHAPRESS) – Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) released this Wednesday (24) a panel to consult the maximum prices of medicines sold in the country.
The objective of the tool is to make it easier for the Brazilian population to access the maximum prices for medicines authorized by Cmed (Chamber of Medicines Market Regulation).
The initiative was announced in a note from the agency through the action of Scmed (Executive Secretariat of the Medicines Market Regulation Chamber).
Pharmacies and drugstores, as well as laboratories, distributors and importers, cannot charge an amount for medicines above the price allowed by Cmed. Currently, the list of maximum prices allowed for the sale of pharmaceuticals is made available on the Anvisa portal for consumer consultation, with monthly updates.
With the new panel, in addition to the list published on the agency’s portal, consumers will be able to check drug prices in a more user-friendly way, by searching for the desired product, using the name of the medicine, active ingredient or registration number.
The body also advises what to do in cases of drug price abuse. In these cases, if the consumer realizes that the price of a drug is above that allowed by the chamber, they can send a complaint to Cmed, thus contributing to market monitoring and inhibiting overpricing practices.
According to the agency, the panel also aims to assist in consulting drug prices, but does not replace the official lists published monthly.
The obligation to comply with the ceiling prices defined by Cmed and registered in Sammed (Medicine Market Monitoring System) must also be monitored with the new panel.
On the interactive website, users can consult three values: the maximum consumer price (PMC), which is the ceiling price authorized for the retail medicine trade, that is, pharmacies and drugstores; the factory price and the maximum sales price to the government.
The factory price (PF) is the price ceiling at which a laboratory or distributor can sell a medicine on the Brazilian market.
The maximum sales price to the government (PMVG) is the ceiling price for sales of medicines included in the list attached to Resolution CTE-CMED 6, of May 27, 2021, or to comply with a court decision.
The panel is in the testing phase and can be accessed here. Questions and suggestions for improving the tool can be sent through Anvisa’s communication channels.
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