Public Pharma Production and Health Sovereignty in Brazil: A Case Study of Lafepe
The existence of Official Pharmaceutical Laboratories (Laboratórios Farmacêuticos Oficiais – LFOs), institutions responsible for producing medicines primarily intended to meet public health program demands, constitutes one of the defining features of the Brazilian pharmaceutical industry (OLIVEIRA, 2007). Public production of medicines and other health technologies became effectively linked to the Brazilian Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde – SUS) following the 1988 Federal Constitution and, more prominently, through Law No. 8,080 of 1990.