Perspective for the reproduction of antimalarial drugs in Brazil

Abstract

There appears to be no chemical manufacture of antimalarial drugs in Brazil. Technology at the laboratory process level has been developed for chloroquine, mefloquine, pyrimethamine and cycloguanil, but not perfected nor scaled-up, largely for economic reasons and market uncertainty. Development of primaquine has been contracted but it will run into the same difficulty. Manufacturing capacity for sulfadoxine was registered in the SDI by Roche. A project to produce artemisinine and its derivatives is under way at UNICAMP-CPQBA but is hampered by low content in the plant. Proguanil could be produced easily, but apparently no attempt has been made to do so. Quinine is imported on a large scale mostly for soft-drink production. Since malarial treatment falls largely within the responsibility of the Government health authorities, manufacture of drugs in Brazil will depend on an assured medium-term purchase order made to a potential local manufacturer, since competition in the world market is scarcely viable at the present moment.