Healthy Skepticism Library item: 14020

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Silverman E.
Brazil Relaunches Probe Into Formulary Scheme
Pharmalot 2007 Jul 15
http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/07/brazil-relaunches-probe-into-formulary-scheme/

Full text:

The Sao Paulo Civil Police have relaunched an investigation into alllegations of improprieties by the Brazilian units of several big drugmakers, including Wyeth, Abbott, Novartis, Serono and the Benatti wholesaler, Estadao.com reports.

The investigation began after an anonymous letter was sent last year to the Ministry of Health by two people who identified themselves as former Wyeth employees. The text of the letter outlined a scheme by which the drugmakers were financing patients lawsuits against the government health system to force state agencies to pay for expensive and imported meds not on the government formulary.

The scheme was allegedly being done indirectly with drugmakers giving wholesalers either substantial discounts or extended payment plans, in exchange for the wholesalers paying law firms for legal services on behalf of patients seeking specific high-cost drugs. In Brazil, citizens can take legal action against government health systems to require they provide meds not on formularies.

In 2007, as a result of successful patient lawsuits, the Sao Paolo state government spent about $250,000 to buy non-formulary drugs, more than double the amount spent in 2005. The former president of a support group for arthritis patients in Sao Paolo told authorities she received help from Abbott in 2005 in filing a lawsuit to require the state to buy Humira to treat her rheumatoid arthritis.

The drugmakers declined to comment on the investigation, but all denied any involvement in improprieties, according to the paper.

The translation was provided by Joana Ramos of Cancer Resources & Advocacy