Incorporation of new medicines by the National Commission for Incorporation of Technologies, 2012 to June 2016.

The National Commission for incorporation of Health Technologies (CONITEC), established in 2011, advises the Ministry of Health in decisions related to the incorporation, exclusion or change of medicines, products and procedures in the Unified Health System (SUS).The study investigated the decision-making process, profile of demands and incorporation of new medicines in the SUS from January/2012 to June/2016, based on data available on the CONITEC website. All submissions were evaluated and characterized by technology and applicant type. The incorporations were analyzed according to the Anatomical-Therapeutic-Chemical classification, International Classification of Disease of the clinical indication and active record in the National Health Surveillance Agency. In the period, 485 submissions were received, 92.2% concerning requests for incorporation and 62.1% for medicines, of which 93 (30.1%) received a favorable recommendation for incorporation. Domestic demands were more successful than externally originated ones. Six unregistered drugs were incorporated. Infectious and parasitic diseases and musculoskeletal diseases constituted the main clinical indications. The recommendation of incorporation occurred mainly based on the additional clinical benefits and low budget impact.