Drugs price control

Abstract

This work intends to analyze the price control of medicines, since 2003, in Brazil, considering June 2003 to December 2005. It carries out a historical retrospective contemplating regulations, through foreign and national Constitutions, and the evolution of the theme. It approaches health, which has a differential treatment between public services, because it can be exploited by individuals without the need for state grant. Moreover, there are brief considerations on so-called failures of competition in the drug market to demonstrate the freezing of prices of medicines in Brazil. This work analyzes some standards that set the price control of medicines, specifically related to its validity in the Federal Constitution and the legality of the acts that are practiced by the Brazilian Board of Market Regulation of Medicines. It also compares regulations facing Federal Constitution. It concludes that the interference at price control is unconstitucional due to its proven ineffectiveness. However, it is valid due to other devices to regulate the drug market and, because of this aspect, this work stands for the need of a regulatory reform, since there are some inconsistency between the current regulatory framework and the scenario of economic stability, a horizon of growth and development.