[Ip-health] Police in Sao Paulo relaunch investigation of pharmas

[Joana Ramos]

FYI.  I don't  have time to translate the article ( below) , but here is
a short summary, from Estadao.com.br (the newspaper/ Estado de  Sao
Paulo) /online, dated  July 14, 2008.

Joana

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URL for news article:


Pol=EDcia de SP retoma investiga=E7=E3o contra laborat=F3rios farmac=EAutic=
os
Empresas s=E3o suspeitas de patrocinar a=E7=F5es para vender sem licita=E7=
=E3o;
paciente admite interfer=EAncia de ind=FAstria
http://www.estadao.com.br/estadaodehoje/20080714/not_imp205457,0.php


English summary translation:

The Sao Paulo Civil Police have relaunched an investigation into
allegations of improprieties by the Brazilian branches of several major
multinational pharmaceutical companies, including Wyeth, Abbott,
Novartis, Sereno, and the drug wholesale firm Benatti. The investigation
began after an anonymous letter was sent last year to the office of the
Ministry of Health, by 2 individuals who identified themselves as former
employees of Wyeth. The text of the letter outlined a scheme by which
the pharmas were essentially financing patient lawsuits against the
government health system ( SUS) to force the state agencies to pay for
expensive and imported medicines that were not on the SUS formulary.  It
was being done indirectly, with the pharmas giving wholesalers either
substantial price discounts or extended payment plans on products
purchased, in exchange for the wholesalers paying law firms for legal
services on behalf of patients seekingt specific high-cost drugs.

[ Background: because the Brazilian Constitution guarantees the "right
to health" for all citizens and Brazil has a  national health service (
Servico Unico de Saude or SUS)  patients are able to take legal action
against SUS units in their home state to require that it provide them
with medicines not on the SUS formulary. Based on Constitutional law,
the patient lawsuits are almost always successful. Many of the diseases
organizations  and patient groups in Brazil ( many of which are
increasingly receiving pharma funding, especially in southern states
like Sao Paulo)  provide patient training not only on patient rights but
on how to file access-to-medicines lawsuits. Most of the requests are
for imported drugs  for cancer, HIV , and rare diseases.  The public
health system of each state pays for medicines from its own budget.
Patient organizations, except in the HIV/AIDS area, almost never
pressure the government to demand that  pharmas sell the drugs at
affordable prices in Brazil or that  alternative access strategies be
undertaken. ]


In 2007, as a result of successful patient lawsuits, the  [SP]
government spent  $400,000 Reais ( approx. US  $250,000) to purchase
non-formulary drugs, more than double the amount spent in 2005.

A patient who is the former president of a support group for patients
with arthritis in  SP state has told authorities that she received help
from Abbott labs  in 2005 to file a lawsuit to require the state to buy
Humira to treat her rheumatoid arthritis.

The drug companies connected by the reporter would not make any
statements about the investigation, but all denied any involvement in
improprieties.




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Joana Ramos, MSW
Cancer Resources & Advocacy
Seattle WA USA
+1-206-229-2420
http://ramoslink.info/
www.bmtbasics.org