Adjustment of up to 4.5% in the price of medicines comes into force in the country

The adjustment of up to 4.5% in the price of medicines for continuous use for around ten thousand options began to take effect this week, according to the authorization published last week by the government’s Medicines Market Regulation Chamber (CMED). federal.

CMED determined the maximum price of products and also reported that the adjustment is the smallest carried out since 2020. The percentage, according to the ministry, is not an automatic increase in prices, but a definition of the permitted adjustment ceiling.

According to the Chamber, the price ceiling was calculated based on the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) accumulated over the last year. Between March 2023 and February 2024, the value was 4.5%.

“This year, the Medicines Market Regulation Chamber (CMED) limited the increase to this percentage of 4.5%. Brazil today adopts a price regulation policy focused on protecting citizens, always establishing a ceiling for the percentage of increase to protect people and avoid abusive price increases”, said Carlos Gadelha, Secretary of Science, Technology, Innovation and Complex of the Ministry of Health.

In previous years, the increases were 10.89% (2022), 8.15% (2021), 4.08% (2020) and 4.33% (2019).

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.

See what the readjustment of ICMS rates will be like, determined by CMED, for medicines in each unit of the federation:

• 12% – Generic medicines in Minas Gerais and São Paulo;
• 17% – Espírito Santo, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Federal District;
• 18% – Amapá, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Rio Grande do Norte;
• 19% – Acre, Alagoas, Bahia, Pará, Paraná and Sergipe;
• 19.5% – Rondônia;
• 20% – Amazonas, Maranhão, Rio de Janeiro, Ceará, Roraima, Tocantins and Paraíba;
• 20.5% – Pernambuco;
• 21% – Piauí.

According to the law, the annual price adjustment defined by the government can be applied to around 10 thousand presentations of medicines available on the Brazilian retail market.

Throughout this year, the government guaranteed that there will be no distinction between increases in three bands as has occurred in previous years, indicating medicines based on market competitiveness, whether more competitive, moderately concentrated or very competitive.