The export of vitamin A to meet the request of nearly 400k pharmaceutical units in Guatemala was celebrated and reported by the Institute of Drug Technology (Farmanguinhos/Fiocruz) at the end of October. The process made by direct sale, through the action of Fiotec, gave speed to the assistance provided by the unit to the World Health Organization (WHO) in the provision of vaccines to countries in need of better supply.

The success in shipping the drugs was also greatly celebrated at Fiotec, especially by the institution's International Purchasing team, responsible for performing and monitoring the entire procedure. "We have been shipping this type of drug for a long time, but until then only vaccines exported by Bio-Manguinhos. But for each commodity, depending on its use and purpose, there are different procedures. In the case of this vitamin, more demands from PAHO [Pan American Health Organization, related to the WHO]," explains Elisângela Bevitori, team supervisor, who recalls how the process was even more challenging since Fiotec had not exported, even vaccines, since 2017.

The export of the vitamin enabled the team led by Elisângela to contact new commercial procedures and the opportunity to invest in knowledge to deal with this new modality of direct selling. According to her, all the expertise accumulated by the institution in shipping vaccines to Bio-Manguinhos did not make it easier to export to a country like Guatemala, with reality and legislation very different from the usual recipients.

I National Research Import Forum

Earlier this month, Elisângela attended the national event aimed at the other end of the circulation process of health inputs. She was in Brasília for the first edition of the Research Import Forum, promoted by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) on November 5 and 6. "The event was a very important space for us to share and discuss the solutions for common problems in the process of importing inputs for research," said Elisângela, noting that this was the first event promoted by CNPq dedicated entirely to the importing theme.

The forum brought together, in the same space, all the actors involved in the processes of importing inputs for research. Representatives from the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTIC), Brazilian IRS, Anvisa, Inmetro, Sebrae, among others, heard the desires and difficulties faced by professionals from support foundations, universities and other research-related institutions. "We concentrated everything in a letter, signed jointly, which has already been forwarded to these bodies by CNPq coordination. The document gathers specific suggestions to solve recurring bottlenecks in the importing process of these inputs".

In addition to the central theme that proposed to analyze the impacts of the S&T Legal Framework, the event promoted workshops on customs clearance; closing of exchange for research imports; accreditation and revalidation by Law 8.010/1990; transfer of goods imported by third parties.