Big Pharma intends to control research in Brazil; understand

On April 18, 2022, a bill that was approved on an urgent basis in the Chamber of Deputies directly addresses the regulation of carrying out scientific studies on human beings. The bill is PL 7082/2017, which establishes the National System of Ethics in Clinical Research with Human Beings. Everything indicates that this change can be harmful to Brazilian society in general and the people who collaborate directly with research in this area, as well as the Unified Health System itself (SUS).

This shift is being driven by the pharmaceutical industry's thirst for profit. According to Laís Bonilha, coordinator of Conep linked to the CNS, Brazil has an internationally recognized ethical research system that is well advanced. In fact, legislation already exists and protects the most vulnerable, ensuring that those who submit to clinical trials are entitled to receive drugs as long as necessary, even after the end of the study.

However, if the new law is approved, it will relativize this protection, setting a limit of five years – or until the drug is made available by the SUS. As always, industry's argument is typical of capital, always asserting that the protection of patients is too expensive and makes clinical studies unfeasible in Brazil, which is a great fallacy, according to Bonilla. The reality is that the profits from investments in clinical research are very high, reaching between 40% and 42%.

If compared to the profit of a pharmacy, which varies from 2% to 4%, for example, its exorbitant value can be seen. However, Lais explains that a mobilization is needed so that Congress does not approve this project that only benefits industry and leaves the citizen aside. After all, the patient who participates in clinical studies is working for science and society – and should be rewarded for it.

Geographer and pseudo writer (or otherwise), I'm 23 years old, from Rio Grande do Sul, lover of the seventh art and everything that involves communication.