O increase of up to 4.5% in drug prices authorized by the federal government is valid from this Sunday, March 31st. The measure was published in the Official Gazette of the Union on Thursday (28). Defined by the Medicines Market Regulation Chamber (Cmed), the percentage does not represent an automatic increase in prices, but rather a definition of the ceiling allowed for the industry.
Last year, the maximum adjustment was 5.6%. The percentage authorized in 2024 is the lowest since 2019 (See below how the evolution was). Despite being valid from this Sunday, the adjustment may not be immediate, as it depends on each pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry itself.
Medicine price adjustments are annual and are based on a ceiling model calculated based on the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA). The IPCA remained at 4.5% in the last 12 months. Therefore, the pharmaceutical sector already expected an increase in the price of medicines close to this base.
The other indices used in the pharmaceutical industry account, such as sector productivity, production costs not captured by the IPCA and promotion of competition, were established as zero by Cmed, in a resolution announced in February.
The annual price adjustment defined by the government can be applied to around 10 thousand presentations of medicines available on the Brazilian retail market.
