MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil launches local production of drugs to fight obesity and diabetes

The new development will reduce Brazil's dependence on foreign inputs, Trinidade explained

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Health Minister Nísia Trindade participated last Friday in the opening ceremony of a laboratory in Hortolândia (Sao Paulo State) to produce drugs against diabetes and obesity, including Ozempic's active ingredient, Agência Brasil reported.

The synthetic polypeptide factory will produce liraglutide, ”an innovative product that has been submitted for registration with the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) and is in the priority queue for evaluation,“ Trinidade said in a statement.

Operated by the pharmaceutical company EMS, the plant is also expected to produce semaglutide, an ingredient in the drug Ozempic, whose patent runs until March 2026 and whose application for registration has already been submitted to Anvisa.

”With an investment of R$60 million (US$ 10.93 million), the facility represents a historic milestone, as it is considered the first of its kind in the country and is part of the federal government's initiatives related to the Health Economic-Industrial Complex,“ the minister's document went on.

Trinidade also highlighted the benefits for patients with diabetes. ”It's the first drug produced in the country for the treatment of diabetes and obesity, in an innovative way, using peptides, liraglutide and also semaglutide.“

”It's a source of great pride and expectation,“ she added. ”The production of synthetic polypeptides will reduce the side effects for patients and also the cost, as well as guaranteeing progress in our country's autonomy,“ she also explained

The minister also mentioned the importance of ”combined efforts“ and evaluated the inauguration of the new plant as ”the meeting of the competence and quality of the private sector with the public policies of the federal government.“

During the ceremony, Lula described the moment as ”auspicious“ for health in Brazil. ”I'm very happy to be returning to this industrial complex 17 years after my first visit,“ he said, citing the state's purchasing power as a ”very important factor in the development of the national industry“.

”We are convinced that the purchasing power of the SUS will allow us to have a pharmaceutical industry capable of competing with any in the world. Brazil is tired of being small, of being a developing country, of saying that we are the country of the future. No, we want to be big. For us, the future isn't tomorrow, it starts now. And this factory is an example that the future has already arrived in the health sector,” the president went on.

The inauguration of the plant is in line with the guidelines of the national strategy for the development of the Health Economic-Industrial Complex launched in September 2023 to expand national production of items classified as priorities for the Unified Health System (SUS) while reducing Brazil's dependence on foreign inputs.

According to the ministry, diabetes was identified as a priority in the matrix of productive and technological challenges in health, making innovation and technological development of platforms and products related to this condition relevant within the scope of the complex.