Good public procurement goes beyond price, it’s also about the quality of the data provided. Gaps in filling in descriptions prevent servers from making price comparisons, which directly affects the efficiency of procurement and the management of public resources.

In this survey, Transparência Brasil analyzed the quality of information on medicines contracted via the National Public Procurement Portal (PNCP), a platform established by the New Procurement Law (Law 14.133/2021).

Of the R$36 billion in public purchases of medicines published between 10.Aug.2021 and 06.Aug.2024, only 7% (R$2.5 billion) have information that makes it possible to identify the best price for the items to be purchased. The indicator reveals significant obstacles to compliance with the NLLC.

• The study considers the Catalogue of Materials (CATMAT), which is mandatory for Federal Public Administration contracts, as the parameter for a complete description;
• Most of the medicines with an insufficient or incorrect description come from Compras.gov.br, used by the federal government and, to a lesser extent, by state and municipal entities;
• The results show the importance of training civil servants and adopting descriptive standards for procurement items, such as the OCDS open data model.