On June 28th, the Uruguayan Minister of Public Health, Jorge Basso, informed that he will prioritize the joint purchase of oncological drugs during his pro tempore presidency of the Mercosur`s health sector. The measure seeks to obtain better prices for these drugs,  something that will improve the quality of treatments and make health systems more sustainable. The Uruguayan presidency of MERCOSUR, which will last until the end of 2018, expects that these new drugs will be incorporated in the next joint purchase. During the 42 Mercosur Health Ministers’ Summit, on June 15th in Paraguay, the ministers agreed that monoclonal antibodies should be included in these medicines. However, the official list of medicines that will be included in the joint purchase has not been published yet.

The joint purchase of oncological drugs was incorporated into the Mercosur’s health agenda in the last meeting held in Paraguay June 15th, 2018. With this agreement, the bloc expects to obtain lower and more competitive prices for these drugs, due to the increase in volume of purchase and the increase of the bargaining power that the block will have acting as one unit.

The new pro tempore Mercosur`s Health sector president, Jorge Basso, said that “these joint negotiations will be stimulated during the Uruguayan presidency and for that, meetings will be encouraged in the coming months with technical groups and negotiation spaces to incorporate them” .