Pharmaceutical lobbying in Brazil: a missing topic in the public health research agenda

ABSTRACT In the US, where registration of lobbyists is mandatory, the pharmaceutical industry and private health-care providers spend huge amounts of money seeking to influence health policies and government decisions. In Brazil, where lobbying lacks transparency, there is virtually no data on drug industry expenditure to persuade legislators and government officials of their viewpoints and to influence decision-making according to commercial interests. Since 1990, however, the Associação da Indústria Farmacêutica de Pesquisa (Interfarma - Pharmaceutical Research Industry Association), Brazilian counterpart of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), main lobbying organization of the US pharmaceutical industry, has played a major role in the advocacy of interests of major drug companies. The main goals of Interfarma lobbying activities are: shortening the average time taken by the Brazilian regulatory agency (ANVISA) to approve marketing authorization for a new drug; making the criteria for incorporation of new drugs into SUS (Brazilian Unified Health System) more flexible and speeding up technology incorporation; changing the Country's ethical clearance system and the ethical requirements for clinical trials to meet the need of the innovative drug industry, and establishing a National Policy for Rare Diseases that allows a prompt incorporation of orphan drugs into SUS. Although lobbying affects community health and well-being, this topic is not in the public health research agenda. The impacts of pharmaceutical lobbying on health policies and health-care costs are of great importance for SUS and deserve to be investigated.

Poder, finanças, direito e saúde / Power, finance, law and health

O objetivo do presente trabalho é levar ao conhecimento da comunidade científica temas atuais e polêmicos como o processo democrático e de representação brasileiro contemporâneo. O princípio da divisão dos poderes, tipos e propostas de orçamento público, legislação e execução de políticas públicas em saúde são explicitados. Além de projetarem algumas possibilidades de resultados, os autores utilizaram metodologia exploratória a partir de palavras-chave no portal Capes, assim como nos principais meios de comunicação. Ressaltaram, ainda, a possibilidade de inconvenientes futuros e ponderamentos sobre o direito e o assunto da saúde no congresso nacional brasileiro. Concluiu-se a necessidade do voto por mérito, na criação de escolas legislativas e executivas, e um estudo sobre partidos de fim, não ideológicos, desacreditados pelo povo que foi às ruas em recentes manifestações. É notório que os poderes públicos associados ao aporte financeiro constituem a base da verdadeira democracia brasileira

The aim of this study is to inform the scientific community current issues and controversial as the Brazilian democratic process and contemporary representation. The principle of powers separation, types and public budget proposal, legislation and public health policies are explained, in addition to designing some possible results, the authors used exploratory methodology from keywords on the website as well as in Capes mainstream media; also highlighted the possibility of future inconveniences on the right and the subject of health in Brazilian national Congress. The conclusion is the need to vote on merit, on establishing legislative and executive schools, and a study of parties and ideological purposes and not discredited by the people who were to the streets in recent demonstrations, since public power is associated with the financial support, and constitutes the basis of a true growing democracy in Brazil

Estrategias de la industria tabacalera en México para interferir en las políticas de control del tabaco / Undue tobacco industry interference in tobacco control policies in Mexico

OBJETIVO: Identificar las estrategias empleadas por la industria tabacalera en México para contener tanto la adopción del Convenio Marco para el Control de Tabaco como la implementación adecuada de las políticas que contempla. DISCUSIÓN: La interferencia de la IT en el diseño, adopción e implementación de las políticas de control de tabaco se ha intensificado desde la firma del CMCT. A partir de 1997, las estrategias se adaptaron al cambio político en México. Esta adaptación consistió en identificar los puntos de veto en el desarrollo de las políticas de control de tabaco. CONCLUSIÓN: Las estrategias de interferencia de la industria tabacalera son eficaces en la afectación de las decisiones públicas.

OBJECTIVO: To identify tobacco industry´s strategies aimed at containing the full adoption of public health policies established by the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. DISCUSSION: Tobacco industry interference in the design, adoption and implementation of tobacco control policies has intensified since the signing of the FCTC. However, it is back in 1997 when one can trace a shift in tobacco industry strategies, adapting to political change in Mexico. This adaptation has consisted mostly in identifying emerging veto points in the chain of public policy development. CONCLUSION: Tobacco industry´s interfering strategies have success y fully affected Mexican policies.