In March the 26th, the Brazilian government announced a partnership between Merck Sharp & Dohme and Instituto Butantan, a government funded Brazilian pharmaceutical company, to produce Pembrolizumab in Brazil. The goal is to make the MSD drug available at more competitive prices so it can be accessible in Brazil’s public health care system (SUS).
The initial terms of the contract have already been defined, and now the project moves on to the next phase, which is negotiating the exchange of technology between the two companies.
By producing the medication at lower costs, the government aims to make Pembrolizumab available in more Oncology Hospitals in Brazil, thus offering better treatment to the population and narrowing the gap between public and private sector treatment discrepancies.
As of now, the Ministry of Health, through the National Commission of Technology Incorporation in SUS (CONITEC), has approved Pembrolizumab for the treatment of locally advanced and metastatic melanoma. Now, it is in discussion its incorporation for the treatment of other malignancies, such as cervical cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer and esophageal cancer.