BNDES approves R$ 220 million for company to produce medicines for cancer, diabetes and HIV in Brazil.
Investment will enable the creation of 19 medications and the domestic manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), focusing on cancer, diabetes, and HIV, according to BNDES.
247 - The Brazilian National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) has approved R$ 220 million in financing to support Blanver Farmoquímica e Farmacêutica's investment plan in research, development, and innovation. This information was published by Veja magazine.
According to BNDES, the funds will enable the development of 19 new medications, seven of which are aimed at treating different types of cancer, one for diabetes, and three for HIV-positive patients. In addition, the financing includes the structuring of the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for human use—considered strategic for strengthening the national industry.
"This is a fundamental contribution to guaranteeing the autonomy of Brazilian pharmaceutical companies and those specific to the SUS (Brazilian Public Health System). Currently, only 5% of the inputs used in the pharmaceutical industry are produced in Brazil, a number that was 50% about 30 years ago," highlighted the president of BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank), Aloizio Mercadante.
Blanver's project is part of the national strategy to reduce external dependence on supplies and medicines, strengthening the so-called health chain. BNDES financing will be provided through its credit lines focused on innovation and local production of technologies of interest to the Unified Health System (SUS).
The company, which operates in the pharmaceutical sector focusing on infectious and immunological diseases, intends to expand its production and technological capacity. The bank's support is part of the federal government's effort to boost the country's reindustrialization through innovation and greater health sovereignty.
The initiative also aligns with the public policy of strengthening the Economic-Industrial Complex of Health (CEIS), prioritized by the government as a strategic pillar for economic and social development, especially after the vulnerabilities exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.