The latest news from Brazilian pharma, including an investigation into the country’s deal with Indian lab Bharat Biotech to purchase COVID-19 vaccines; the IP and regulatory challenges around personalised medicine in Brazil; and how domestic champion EMS surged in performance in 2020 thanks to COVID.
Brazil probes Health Ministry deal to buy Covaxin vaccine (The Washington Post)
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s federal prosecutor’s office is investigating possible irregularities in a Health Ministry contract to purchase 20 million doses of the Covaxin vaccine manufactured by Indian laboratory Bharat Biotech.
The agreement signed in February commits the ministry to pay $320 million – at a cost of $15 per vaccine dose – to Precisa Medicamentos, the representative of Bharat Biotech in Brazil, according to a document sent to The Associated Press by the prosecutor general’s press office.
Personalised medicine in Brazil: IP and regulatory challenges (IAM Media)
https://www.iam-media.com/personalised-medicine-in-brazil-ip-and-regulatory-challenges
With the development of techniques such as CRISPR and increasing knowledge in the ‘omics’, science can now provide what only a few years ago looked like science fiction: personalised medicine (sometimes referred to as ‘precision medicine’ or ‘personalised healthcare’). Personalised medicine is an evolving field where a therapeutic treatment is tailored to an individual with a particular disease and is capable not only of avoiding or minimising harmful side effects caused by mass medicines and treatments (as well as ensuring a more successful outcome), but also helping reduce costs compared with a trial-and-error approach to disease treatment.
Brazil’s Dasa acquires Salvador-based medical firm HBA in $165 mln deal (Reuters)
A subsidiary of Brazilian medical services firm Dasa, formally Diagnosticos da America SA (DASA3.SA), has reached a deal to acquire HBA, a medical company in the northeastern city of Salvador, the company said late Tuesday.
In a securities filing, Dasa said its subsidiary Impar Servicos Hospitalares SA would pay out 850 million reais ($165 million) to acquire HBA, or Assistencia Medica e Hospitalar.
Brazil’s healthcare sector comes down with M&A fever (Latin Finance)
Buyers like Fleury, DASA and Rede D’Or are flush with cash to finance more than $250 mln in acquisitions, analyst says.
Pharma company tells Brazil’s Covid CPI that it billed 8 times more in 2020 with “Covid kit” drugs (The Rio Times)
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – EMS pharmaceutical company advised the Senate’s Covid CPI that it invoiced R$142 (US$28.2) million with “Covid kit” drugs in 2020, an amount 8 times higher than the previous year. The sum with the sale of ivermectin alone increased from R$2.2 million to R$71.1 million in the pandemic.
The laboratory also produced azithromycin, hydroxychloroquine, and nitazoxanide, ineffective drugs against the virus, but which became President Jair Bolsonaro’s flagship in the health crisis.
IP Waiver Talks Hinge On Use Of Big Pharma’s Trade Secrets (Law 360)
https://www.law360.com/articles/1388176/ip-waiver-talks-hinge-on-use-of-big-pharma-s-trade-secrets
Brazil could be the first country to lay out a blueprint. Legislation recently passed by the Brazilian Senate would require pharmaceutical companies to disclose all information necessary to make COVID-19 vaccines or risk losing their patent rights or having a patent application denied. The Brazilian House of Representatives still needs to approve the bill, and it remains to be seen whether President Jair Bolsonaro will sign it.
