The Pernambuco Pharmaceutical Laboratory (Lafepe) in Brazil’s Northeast is beginning to get ready to export anti-retroviral medications used in the treatment of AIDS patients.
The company hopes to start its exports in January, 2006. An agreement was signed at a meeting 15 days ago, in Argentina, with the participation of Latin American Ministers of Health.
The announcement was made, Wednesday, August 17, by the president of the Pernambucan laboratory, Luiz Alexandre Almeida, during a visit by the Prime Minister of Cape Verde, José Maria Pereira Naves, to the company’s headquarters. Neves was accompanied by a delegation of entrepreneurs and ministers.
According to Almeida, an agreement was set for representatives of Cabo Verde’s state pharmaceutical enterprise to visit Recife to study a way to establish a technical cooperation accord to serve his country’s needs.
Pereira Neves said that he plans to establish a partnership with the Brazilian laboratory for the importation of drugs, especially by a Cape Verde government enterprise. The partnership is also designed to develop drug production in a regime of mutual cooperation.
The Lafepe, which serves the Ministry of Health, 18 states, and 476 municipalities, is currently capable of producing 1.1 billion units annually of 67 types of medicines, for prices that can be afforded by the low-income population.
Agência Brasil