Chile proposes lower prices for drugs at the XV International Meeting of Pharmacovigilance of the Americas
Chile
24 octubre 2018

On October 11th and 12th, the XV International Meeting of Pharmacovigilance of the Americas took place. The delegation from the host country, Chile, called for policies to reduce drug prices at the regional level. They argue that this will promote access to them and will allow, in the medium term, the universal health coverage. Present at the meeting were drug regulatory agencies from the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile; representatives of PAHO/WHO; and from the pharmaceutical industry. This discussion will continue in the next meeting, to be held in the first months of 2019. Meanwhile, some countries in the region, such as Peru and Colombia, are promoting alternative mechanisms to achieve the objectives proposed by Chile at this meeting.

As host of the meeting, the Chilean delegation led by the Minister of Health, Emilio Santelices, and representatives of Chile’s Institute of Public Health (ISP), urged to promote measures to reduce the price of drugs since “they are one of the critical means to advance in universal coverage”. For this reason, he urged the participants to ” think about how we can achieve the balances to promote greater drug access”. He also called for a discussion focused on patient needs rather than corporate interests. The participating entities – FDA (United States), Health Canada, ANVISA (Brazil), COMISCA (El Salvador), COFEPRIS (Mexico) and ISP (Chile) and CIMLAC Network (Regional),  – agreed to promote this discussion at the national level and within the framework of future meetings.

Meanwhile, other countries in the region are moving forward with concrete actions to promote lower drug purchase prices. Peru will open the importation of drugs, since health institutions have proven that domestic prices are up to three times more expensive than foreign ones. Colombia will boost national production as a mechanism to promote competition between national and international products, in the hope that this will result in lower prices.

wefeqwf