The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Marcos Pontes, said today (5) that a new stoppage in the production of radiopharmaceuticals may occur in the middle of this month, if Congress does not approve this week the necessary budget supplementation for the import of the necessary nuclear inputs.
Radiopharmaceuticals are essential for nuclear medicine, which is applied in cancer treatments through radiotherapy and imaging exams. The Institute for Energy and Nuclear Research (Ipen), responsible for 85% of national production, has already stopped production this year, in September 20.
The interruption lasted up to 1O October and prompted some hospitals to announce the interruption of treatments and tests. Production was resumed after the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), responsible for managing Ipen, to have announced the release of R$ 19 million for the import of inputs.
The contingency budget, however, is enough for just two weeks, according to the folder itself.
“The problem is not solved. We managed to transfer R$19 million now, but in a week or two, at the most, production will stop again, until this PLN is approved. [projeto de lei do Congresso Nacional] with BRL 34 [milhões], then another one with R$ 55 [milhões] by the end of the year,” said Pontes.
The minister attended this to haveTuesday (5) to the Financial Inspection and Control Committee of the Chamber of Deputies to explain the situation. He took the opportunity to make an appeal for the approval of the Ipen budget supplement. “My son had cancer, so I understand the anguish and anxiety of the families,” he said.
The problem occurs because the 2021 budget was sent to Congress by the Ministry of Economy with a cut in the budget foreseen for the operation of Ipen. According to Pontes, this has been happening every year at least since 2012, but as this year’s budget was approved late, only in April, there was not enough time to find a solution.
The minister suggested that Congress approve a kind of shielding in the budget for the production of radiopharmaceuticals, obliging that the revenue from Ipen, which profits from the production of radiopharmaceuticals, be reapplied in the institute itself, not entering the common account of the National Treasury.
“The most absurd thing here is that there is no fiscal issue,” said the chairman of the Oversight Committee, Deputy Elias Vaz (PSB-GO), who highlighted the fact that Ipen to have enough own income to support its own production. “We are talking about human lives, people who are undergoing treatment for a serious disease, and it is interrupted because they do not have the medicine,” added Vaz.
As an emergency, the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) approved a resolution, in September 29th, to allow the exceptional import of radiopharmaceuticals.
After the measure, some hospitals announced emergency importation, such as the Mãe de Deus Hospital, in Porto Alegre. “The measure is necessary due to the crisis in the supply of radiopharmaceuticals and radioisotopes that affects the entire country”, informed the HMD.