INTERFARMA PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH INDUSTRY COMMITMENTS FOR SOLUTIONS REGARDING THE COVID-19 CRISIS

Interfarma is an association that comprises more than 50 pharmaceutical research laboratories.

The impact and spread of Coronavirus in the country and around the world continues to be a concern. With this in mind, Interfarma includes here an explanatory and informational note based on its commitment to ensure the health of Brazilian patients and emphasize the importance of medical and pharmaceutical research to our community:

Internal Measures

• Interfarma and its companies have restricted meetings with outside participants in order to protect their collaborators and partners and help authorities contain the spread of the virus;
• In order not to jeopardize the continuity of sectoral activities, Interfarma meetings will be held remotely until the situation normalizes;
• Face-to-face meetings at Interfarma, when unavoidable, will be restricted to no more than 5 people. Some of the associates have adopted a maximum of 10 people, provided that all precautions, such as keeping a minimum distance between participants and hand hygiene, are followed;
• National and international travel has also been restricted to cases that are absolutely necessary;
• Organized or entity-sponsored external events have been postponed;
• The home office system has been implemented by most companies.
• Visits by sales representatives to hospitals, laboratories and clinics have been canceled nationwide.

Sectoral Commitments

• Interfarma and its associates are committed to local and global efforts to assist in the treatment of people affected by COVID 19 and to contain the spread of the virus;
• Interfarma and its associates are working hard to anticipate fluctuation risks and ensure the integrity of the global chain of medications and various pharmaceutical inputs.  In addition, the production of medication continues stable and in alignment with the highest health safety standards. So far, the supply of drugs in the country continues at a normal level;
• The member companies of Interfarma and the Entity itself are collaborating with the country”s public health authorities, including the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa), the Health Ministry, the Ministry of Economy and the state government of São Paulo, to face this crisis with a view to speeding up processes while upholding the highest standards of patient safety.

Global Measures

• In global terms, the pharmaceutical industry has been at the forefront of initiatives to fight and treat COVID-19 in partnership with governments and international organizations in the search for effective actions targeted at patients and the containment of the virus.
• A few of these global initiatives, headed by Interfarma”s associates, include concentrating on new therapeutic alternatives, drugs and vaccines, in addition to expanding diagnosis. 
• For more information about the global efforts made by the bio-pharmaceutical industry, go to: https://efpia.eu/news-events/the-efpia-view/statements-press-releases/european-pharmaceutical-industry-response-to-coronavirus/ ou https://phrma.org/Fact-Sheet/The-Biopharmaceutical-Industry-is-Leading-the-Way-in-Developing-New-Vaccines-and-Treatments-for-COVID-19.

Recommendation

Against the backdrop of the advanced infection stage of the virus, Interfarma recommends that face-to-face interactions be interrupted in all possible situations.

However, the decision to take specific measures is up to each member company”s strategy.