started · updated
Brazil's SUS stock shortages lead to legal action over dupilumabe
Families of children aged 6 to 11 with severe atopic dermatitis are increasingly turning to the judiciary to secure access to dupilumabe, a medication incorporated into Brazil's Unified Health System (SUS) in 2024. Despite its official inclusion, reports of stock shortages in state networks have prompted legal action.
Data from Interfarma, based on National Council of Justice (CNJ) records, indicates that between 2022 and 2025, 57.5% of medications requested in court had already been incorporated into the SUS or had received a favorable recommendation from Conitec. This trend has led the CNJ to issue Enunciado 153, which mandates that courts must order public entities to include medications in their supply lists if a patient meets the established clinical protocols, preventing administrative shortages from being used as a justification for denial.
Legal experts note that these shortages shift the focus of judicial disputes from whether a patient has a right to treatment to addressing administrative failures in executing approved public policies, potentially simplifying the legal process for patients.
Entities
Comissão Nacional de Incorporação de Tecnologias no SUS · Conselho Nacional de Justiça · Interfarma · Ministério da Saúde · Sistema Único de Saúde
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [● 3 SOURCES] The lack of stock for an already incorporated medication changes the nature of judicial disputes from discussing the right to treatment to discussing administrative failures. leianoticias.com.br · valor.globo.com · www.terra.com.br
- [● 3 SOURCES] Legislation provides a period of up to 180 days from the publication of the incorporation act for the Ministry of Health to make the medication available in the public network. leianoticias.com.br · valor.globo.com · www.terra.com.br
- [● 3 SOURCES] Between 2022 and 2025, 57.5% of medications requested in court had already been incorporated into the SUS or had a favorable recommendation from Conitec. leianoticias.com.br · valor.globo.com · www.terra.com.br
- [● 3 SOURCES] CNJ Enunciado 153 establishes that if a patient meets clinical protocols but the incorporated drug is out of stock, the court must order the responsible public entity to include it in the supply list. leianoticias.com.br · valor.globo.com · www.terra.com.br
- [● 3 SOURCES] Dupilumabe was incorporated into the Unified Health System (SUS) in 2024. leianoticias.com.br · valor.globo.com · www.terra.com.br