The legislative body must determine whether or not there was favored treatment for the Portuguese-Brazilian twins treated with the drug Zolgensma, one of the most expensive in the world, according to experts.

All possible irregularities in the process will also be investigated, as well as the costs it could have had for the public coffers and if there is evidence of similar cases in the recent past.

The case broke out in early November 2023 following a report by TVI channel, about Brazilian twin babies with spinal muscular atrophy who received in 2020 a treatment valued at four million euros at the Lisbon hospital of Santa Maria.

The girls’ mother claimed to have contacted the daughter-in-law of Portugal’s president for help, although Rebelo de Sousa denied any connection with the incident.

A month later the president admitted that he had found an e-mail from his own son, who lives in Brazil, asking him if the girls could receive treatment on Portuguese soil.

According to the local press the message was forwarded to the Casa Civil (a support and information service of the Presidency), which then replied to the sender that ‘the Portuguese health service gave priority to residents in Portugal’ and sent the case to the Prime Minister’s office.

The president of the Parliament, José Pedro Aguiar Branco, recalled at the beginning of the commission’s work, the media impact of the case asked the deputies for seriousness.

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