The meeting of the National Commission for the Incorporation of Technologies to the SUS (Conitec) is scheduled for this Tuesday (12), which will evaluate the incorporation of the drug Paxlovid, from Pfizer, in the treatment of the Unified Health System (SUS) against Covid-19. . The commission is linked to the Ministry of Health.
According to the findings of Kenzô Machida, anchor of the CNNthe folder awaits the result of the meeting to acquire Paxlovid for the treatment of patients with Covid-19.
And only after this endorsement is that the Ministry of Health must sign the purchase contract for the purchase of the medicine.
What is Paxlovid?
The medicine consists of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir tablets that are packaged and given together. The indication for use is aimed at the treatment of Covid-19 in adults who do not require supplemental oxygen and who are at increased risk of worsening the disease.
The drug, which is an antiviral, was approved for emergency use, on an experimental basis, by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) on March 30, and can be purchased at pharmacies, upon presentation of a prescription.
The drug already has approval for emergency use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); and in Europe, by the European Medicines Agency (EMA); in addition to Canada, China, Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom and Mexico.
The request for emergency use was received by Anvisa on February 15th. Who filed the request was the company Wyeth Indústria Farmacêutica Ltda./Pfizer.
According to Anvisa, the drug is not authorized for use for more than five days. Due to the scarcity of data on the use of the drug in pregnant women, treatment in pregnant women should be avoided. Paxlovid is also not recommended for patients with severe kidney failure or kidney failure.
Incorporation of the drug in the SUS
The body responsible for indicating the incorporation of therapies in the SUS is Conitec. If the drug is approved at the meeting, the Ministry of Health must give approval — and make the purchase, before making it available on the public network.
THE CNN found that the technical committee should recommend the purchase of the drug. If the document is signed in April, the expectation is that the first batch will arrive in Brazil in May.
The quantity that must be purchased by the Ministry of Health will still be defined after approval by the technical committee, but the purchase estimate is from 400 million to 500 million units to serve mainly the group of patients at high risk of contracting the severe form of the disease. disease, even after the complete vaccination schedule.
In early April, the Ministry of Health approved the incorporation of the first drug for the treatment of Covid-19 in the SUS, baricitinib.
The indication is for the treatment of hospitalized adult patients who require oxygen by mask or nasal catheter.
With information from Kenzô Machida and Lucas Rocha, from CNN
Source: CNN Brasil
