Pernambuco State Pharmaceutical Laboratory (Laboratório Farmacêutico do Estado de Pernambuco; LAFEPE) is the second largest public laboratory in Brazil. LAFEPE was created in 1966 to produce medicines at low cost for people with limited purchasing power.

 

Based in Recife, the capital of the state of Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil, LAFEPE focuses on developing, producing, and marketing drugs to support the needs of public health policy. For example, in 1994, it became the first official laboratory in Brazil to produce the antiretroviral zidovudine (AZT).

 

The Pernambuco laboratory invests in the modernization of its facilities, with high-tech industrial equipment. Its pioneering programme, ‘Popular Pharmacy’, set up in popular market areas in different regions of the state, serves as a model for the federal government.   

 

Pharmacies

In partnership with the Department of Health of the State of Pernambuco, LAFEPE began opening their own pharmacies in 2001. The project aims to market generic and similar drugs by LAFEPE and other acquired drugs from other laboratories. These drugs were offered at prices much lower than those charged in the market. Today LAFEPE has 36 pharmacies across the territory of Pernambucano.

 

Chagas Disease: Agreement between Lafepe and DNDi on Safe, Easy-to-Use Treatment for Children

In partnership Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), LAFEPE developed the first paediatric formulation of benznidazole, the most widely used drug for the treatment of Chagas disease, at cost and for worldwide distribution. Children infected by Chagas disease, endemic in 21 countries in Central and South America, will soon have access to a treatment tailored to their needs. The first paediatric formulation of benznidazole will be made available to patients in 2010. The drug will be sold with no profit to the institutions involved in its development, and will be available for distribution worldwide.