Cadeia logística de medicamentos: integração da produção farmacêutica das Forças Armadas

Abstract

The production of medicines is a complex activity, based on science and technology; it demands continuous investments in research and development for the creation of new products; annually, it moves billions of dollars around the world; it involves a global supply change; and, in recent years, this business has undergone changes due to new quality and market standards. Presenting the main features of of the pharmaceutical industry is a primordial step to understanding the obstacles and possibilities of public drug production, in particular the one performed by the Armed Forces, through its three military pharmaceutical laboratories, allonwing the recognition of the role performed by military laboratories, like genuine pharmaceutical industries, responsible for the production of drugs not only to the Forces, but also to governmental departments, with highlights to the Department of Health medication programs. These laboratories are complex Military Organizations, executing typical activities of private enterprises however integrated to direct public administration; presenting relevant strategic significance, especially because of the qualitative and quantitative capacity of their productions and for the technical ability of their human resources; all this not forgetting the traditional military functions they play. In recent years, due to new paradigms in the industry, improvements have been made to parks and manufacturing facilities of military laboratories, which are now in outstanding technical conditions. However, the fact that barely any changes have occurred in management and production areas and that, at the same time, public policy of acquisition of medicine has shifted, limits the outcome observed from the laboratories. Propositions here are made in conformance to the economic principles of the pharmaceutical industry and to the logistic guidelines of the Department of Defense, aiming to reverse the present situation with a drug policy to the Armed Forces that allows a greater integration of these military laboratories, with an economy of means and resource optimization.