The Chamber of Deputies approved this Wednesday (17) the bill that waives the requirement for bidding for the supply of blood products to the Unified Health System (SUS) if Hemobrás is the only institution to produce them.  The proposal was approved by 285 votes in favor and 106 against and will be sent to the Senate. Created in 2004, Hemobrás is a state-owned company that produces medicines derived from the fractionation of plasma from blood donated at collection points across the country. The author of bill (PL) 424/15, deputy Jorge Solla (PT-BA), said that the Brazilian state will be able to use its purchasing power to support national technological development.  "Such goods and services are essential to provide our health sector with an effective and quality capacity, without which Brazil will not be able to guarantee the continuity of its policy of defending health and national development", he stated. Solla also said that bidding should not be required because the only company in the country that can prepare and deliver blood products is public. The rapporteur in the plenary, deputy Clodoaldo Magalhães (PV-PE), said that the proposal is in harmony with the legislation, as it conditions the exemption from bidding on the fact that there is only one public institution that produces the medicine in the country. "In order to prevent other institutions and companies that produce medicines using biotechnology from being forced out of public procurement, to the detriment of efficiency", he argued. Last year, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva inaugurated two Hemobrás blood-derived medicine production blocks in Goiana (PE).  The objective is to expand the production capacity of medicines from plasma, such as albumin, immunoglobulin and clotting factors used in the treatment of severe burns, hemophilia, rare diseases, ICU patients and major surgical procedures. The forecast is that by next year, the company will master all stages of production and be able to meet the full demand of the SUS, with savings predicted by the government of up to R$1 billion per year for the Ministry of Health (MS).