ANTI-FLU DRUGS IN BRAZIL: COMMERCIALIZATION BEFORE AND DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

In the covid-19 pandemic, many drugs without evidence were used for prevention and treatment. In this context, the objective of this study was to analyze the commercialization of anti-flu drugs in Brazil, before and during the covid-19 pandemic, describing the historical series and comparing its results. This is a study of the use of medicines, of the observational, ecological, descriptive and quantitative type, carried out from secondary and consolidated data from the Medicines Market Monitoring System of the National Health Surveillance Agency. The data on the commercialization of anti-flu drugs were collected for the period from 2017 to 2021. In the five years analyzed, about 370 thousand packages of medicines classified as anti-flu without anti-infectives were sold in Brazil, with a turnover of just over US$ 600 million. The analyses of the period showed a reduction in sales in the months of the pandemic and a trend of increased sales in March, between the years surveyed in the study, with the exception of 2021. The study provided a historical analysis of the behavior of the anti-flu drugs market in Brazil, especially during the pandemic period, and observed a change in the pattern of their consumption. Knowledge of the behavior of medication consumption in a population can support measures for guidance on their correct and responsible use because, although over-the-counter, they are not exempt from adverse effects.