Appeals court confirms MSP must supply costly cancer drug to researcher

Uruguay's Tribunal de Apelaciones in Civil Matters has confirmed a lower court's order compelling the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) to supply the medication Opdualag to Gonzalo Moratorio. Moratorio, a university researcher and professor, is battling grade 4 astrocytoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. The appeals court rejected appeals from both the MSP and Moratorio himself, leaving the initial ruling unchanged.

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the discussion central is not the registration commercial of the medicine, but if the negative of the state to supply it violates fundamental rights like the health, the life, the dignity and the equality.

The court's decision mandates that the MSP must provide the treatment prescribed by Moratorio's doctor for as long as necessary. Judges determined that Moratorio lacks the financial resources to cover the medication's cost, which is approximately $10,400 per month. Although Moratorio earns income from his work at the Universidad de la República and the Pasteur Institute of Montevideo, the tribunal found these earnings insufficient to fund the treatment. The court also noted Moratorio declared no assets or savings to cover the expense.

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the negative resulted arbitrary because the medical evidence presented demonstrated that the treatment is pertinent and beneficial to improve the clinical situation of the patient and prolong his survival.

The MSP had argued that its actions were not "manifestly illegal" and that the drug was neither registered in Uruguay nor included in the national therapeutic formulary. However, the tribunal countered that the core issue was not the drug's commercial registration but whether the state's refusal to supply it violated fundamental rights to health, life, dignity, and equality. The ministers concluded that the refusal was arbitrary, as medical evidence showed the treatment would benefit Moratorio's clinical condition and prolong his survival.

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the State has a constitutional obligation to guarantee the health assistance to the persons that cannot afford the necessary treatments.

The ruling further emphasizes the state's constitutional obligation to guarantee healthcare for individuals unable to afford necessary treatments, citing both the constitution and international human rights treaties ratified by Uruguay. The court asserted that administrative or regulatory requirements, such as a lack of drug registration, should not supersede essential rights related to health and life. The tribunal also confirmed that the National Resources Fund (FNR) lacks standing to be held liable in this case, as its competencies are limited to financing programs already defined by current regulations, with primary responsibility for health policy resting with the MSP.

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administrative or regulatory requirements, like the lack of registration of the medicine, cannot prevail when essential rights linked to health and life are compromised.